Winds Of Change
by CiaraShayee
Summary: A horse ranch in the Canada wilderness, a single mother of two rambunctious teenagers, and a green-eyed, stethoscope-wielding blast from the past. Life rarely cooperates with even your best-laid plans, so sometimes all you can do is adapt and adjust. Did you feel that? It's the winds of change. Written for FAGE 11 as a gift for EternallyCullen.
1. Chapter 1

**FAGE 1. Are You In…? **

**Title: **Winds of Change

**Written for: **EternallyCullen

**Written By: **CiaraShayee

**Rating: **M

**Beta'd By: **annaharding

**Summary/Prompt used: **Modern day western/cowboy/rodeo setting (think TV's Heartland)

**If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox. **

**Summary: **A horse ranch in the Canada wilderness, a single mother of two rambunctious teenagers, and a green-eyed, stethoscope-wielding blast from the past. Life rarely cooperates with even your best-laid plans, so sometimes all you can do is adapt and adjust. Did you feel that? It's the winds of change. Written for FAGE 11 as a gift for EternallyCullen.

**Winds Of Change**

**Part One**

As the sun rises over the mountains, the crisp dawn air sweeps across the valley and creates a shifting, swirling ocean out of the tall grass. A lone eagle swoops overhead and the winding Bow River hurries along like a commuter during rush hour.

Down in the prairie, all is calm and quiet—until it's not.

Bark-bark-bark—

"Chase! Simmer down!"

The large black and tan mutt grumbles low under his breath before plopping himself down in the grass, flattening it in the process, long pink tongue lolling as he eyeballs his mistress. She catches up to him on her horse, grinning down as he releases a long sigh.

"I know you like chasing, boy, but you can't."

Chase's dark eyes almost seem to glower, but he remains on the ground even when the mustangs in the distance tentatively move a little closer, curiosity getting the better of them.

Sucking in a deep lungful of fresh, early-morning air, Bella smiles and reaches down to pat her gelding's shoulder. Nothing soothes the soul like a brisk ride before anyone else has even left their beds; or, they hadn't when she set off, anyway. Chester whinnies softly, shifting underneath her. Storms tore through overnight, leaving him unsettled and restless. Bella knows he'll calm after a good run, but the opportunity to stop and watch the beautiful wild horses maneuver the ridge was too good to squander. Her caramel eyes follow them for a few more moments.

Finally, Chase's eager paws prove too much for him to ignore. He huffs and leaps up, his shiny black nose to the ground as he sniffs invisible trails.

A quick glance at her watch makes Bella curse. "Shit, I'm late."

With a quick click of her tongue and a gentle flick of the reins, she urges Chester to turn and head for home. "C'mon, boy. If we're quick we might just make it."

Only too happy to oblige, Chester takes off at a graceful canter; Chase barks gaily as he tears after them with all the floppy-eared, long-legged enthusiasm of an adolescent dog who'd happily spend his entire life running if he could. Luckily for him, he lives on the sprawling six-hundred acres belonging to the Swan family, so he has plenty of room to spread his legs.

Fields make way for forests which eventually open out into a semi-circular meadow as Bella, Chester, and Chase approach the ranch. The barn is half nestled in the treeline, the tall doors thrown open and the sun streaming down on the cladding to make it shine a beautiful cherry red. A large log cabin sits at its side, the windows reflecting the rays of morning light.

As expected, the rumbling school bus approaches the end of the track when Chester skids to a stop in front of the porch, Bella throwing her leg over to slide off his back. The front door flies open and hits the wall with a clack just as her boots hit the ground.

"Morning, Ma."

The kid who strolls outside is tall like a man but soft-voiced and baby-faced like a boy. He flashes Bella a grin and flips his mop of dark hair. After planting a loud kiss on her cheek, he gives Chester a pat on the rump and pauses to scratch Chase behind the ear. The dog pants but sits his butt down and leans against the boy's legs.

"Good morning, baby. Have you got—"

"Everythin'," he chuckles. "Yeah, Ma, I'm good."

A booming voice from inside cuts off Bella's gentle, teasing reprimand for her son's sass. "Fred, my boy! You outside?"

The door swings open again, this time allowing a middle-aged man to roll himself out onto the porch. The wheels of his chair glide over the worn wood. His dark eyes gleam as he sucks in a deep breath, weathered hands clenching on his thighs. As the sunlight sneaks through the slatted awning, it catches the gold band around his ring finger.

He's never taken it off since his wife died over thirty years ago.

Spotting Bella, he huffs a laugh. "You're back, then. I wondered where you'd gotten to." A thick mustache dances above his grin.

"I said I'd be back in time to see the boys off to school, Dad," she reminds him as the door flies open once more.

"C'mon, dude. We need to go." Pausing, Bella's eldest removes his grandfather's worn hat to kiss his graying head. "See you later, Grampa Charlie."

Charlie harrumphs as he teasingly snatches back the hat and replaces it on his head. "See you later, Davey. Don't forget—"

Chortling, Dave steps lithely off the edge of the porch, his boots hitting the ground with a dusty thud. "I haven't forgotten, Grampa. You, me, and the chess set. The Rematch Part Two."

After kissing his mom and clapping his brother on the shoulder, Dave tugs Freddie along just as the bus at the top of the track impatiently toots. "Now, c'mon Fred. We need to get goin' or we've got a long-ass walk."

The boys wave as they jog toward the bus, roughhousing as they go. Bella watches with a fond smile until they've both climbed aboard and disappeared into the woods. Raising two boys by herself has been hard at times. They're both stubborn and loud like their father, but they're also sweet kids. Dave was just two when his brother Freddie was born, but he took to his new role like a duck to water. Of course, there'd been times over the years when they fought like hell and had Bella threatening to move them into the stables, but for the most part, they got on famously and were the best of friends.

Only once the bus was out of sight does Bella turn back to her dad. "All right, old man. What's the plan for today?"

Humming, he strokes his mustache. "We've got that delivery to pick up from Sam."

"The feed," Bella remembers. "Okay, what else?"

"That's it, I reckon."

"Well, okay, then. I'll go put this big guy in his paddock, then we can go."

After stripping Chester of everything but his halter and lead rope, Bella leads him back out of the barn and turns him loose in his usual field. She can't help but smile as he trots off in a wide lap, jet black tail streaming behind him. He really is a beaut—and the very best birthday present she's ever received. Waking up on her twenty-first birthday to her stunning new boy standing right outside the front door with her chuffed-to-bits Dad...it's something she'll never forget.

Bella's almost back at the house when she hears a sharp, short whistle. Knowing exactly who it is, she's trying to smother her grimace when she spins to face the barn, slowly walking backward.

"Hey, Jake. Everything okay?"

The tall, tan, dark-haired guy wears a grin as he jogs over, brushing straw from his jeans. "All good, B. How was your ride earlier? I got here just as you were leaving."

Stifling a wince, Bella forces herself to look surprised. "Oh, really? I didn't hear your truck."

"Aw, that's okay. I didn't want to disturb you, anyways."

Saying she hadn't heard him was a big fat lie. In truth, she'd heard Jake's behemoth truck bouncing down the track. She'd have to be deaf not to. Bella had chosen to speed up instead of slow down though, and now felt awful for doing it—just as she expected she would.

Jake has been around for as long as she can remember. His family own the diner in town, but Jake has always been more of a horse guy. Charlie hired him straight out of high school and he's been here ever since, much to Bella's consternation. He's a good guy, a good friend, but it's no secret that he wants more from Bella than simple friendship. Bella doesn't, and won't ever, want that, but he doesn't seem to be getting the picture.

"So, Dad's got your favorite cobbler on the menu this week. Maybe we could go out later...see a movie, grab a bite?"

Chewing her lip as they walk together toward the porch steps, Bella swallows a sigh. "I'm sorry, Jake, I don't think that's a good idea. And I promised I'd spend time with the boys tonight. It's the last day of their first week back at school, and all..."

"Sure, sure. Another time, then."

Leaving Jake outside, Bella takes the steps in one big stride before slamming the door shut and leaning back against it with a closed-eyed groan.

A bark of laughter has her eyes snapping back open and narrowing.

Charlie twirls the end of his mustache as he chuckles, "You're gonna end up married to that boy, I can just see it now."

With a roll of her eyes, Bella stalks away from the door. "I'd sooner marry Chase than Jake, Dad." Chase briefly lifts his head from his bowl when he hears his name, but goes right back to eating when he realises they weren't speaking to him. Twisting her lips into a wry smile, Bella adds, "You and Billy will have to quit planning that big wedding and get back to fishing, or whatever it is you two do when you disappear off gossipping all day."

Her dad's guffaws follow her all the way down the hall to her room.

.

.

"Bella, hey!"

A smile curls Bella's lips as she steps into the diner. Her best friend of too many years to count rounds the counter—or, waddles around the counter—to pull her into an awkward side-hug. "Hey, Ang. Hey, JC."

Angela's bell-like laughter brings smiles to the familiar faces around them as Bella gives her large belly a gentle, affectionate pat. "Ben told you?"

"Sure did," Bella admits with a silly smile, sliding onto a stool at the bar while her friend returns to her post, lifting a coffee pot in question. "Yes, please."

When Angela sets the steaming cup of coffee in front of her, Bella says, "He came out to look at Jo and we got to talking...I like 'Jamie'. It's cute. Jamie Cheney has a great ring to it."

For the past four months, ever since Ben and Angela discovered that the bouncing baby she's carrying is a boy, they've been backward and forward with names. Eric, Logan, William, Matthew...The most recent, Jamie, has landed him with the nickname 'JC', combining his initials, and so far seems to be the winner.

"We think so, too. Dad's livid that we might not be naming the baby after him, but I want him to have his own name, you know?"

Bella nods. She said the same thing when people asked why she opted to name her firstborn 'Dave' instead of 'Charlie'. It was even worse when she gave birth to Freddie and again chose a different moniker.

"So. What brings you by today?"

After blowing out a long breath, Bella sips her hot drink. "We had some stuff to collect from Sam's. Dad bumped into Billy and decided to stop for a game of gin, so I thought I'd pop in and see you while I waited for him."

Angela's dark eyes twinkle. "You mean you're delaying thinking of ways to turn Jake down and this seemed like the best option because Billy's his dad and he's just as keen for you two to date as his son?"

Smiling wryly, Bella asks, "Is it that obvious? I mean, come on. The guy just doesn't get it, does he?"

"It's been...what? Ten years? Fifteen? If he hasn't gotten it by now, he's never going to."

As Angela waddles along the counter to serve another customer, Bella twists on her stool, her coffee safe in her hands, and gazes out of the window overlooking the main road. As she watches, a big, black truck rolls to a stop on the other side of the street. There are too many passing cars and people to get a good look at the guy who climbs out of the cab, but Bella knows he's an out-of-towner. It's a relatively small town; she knows ninety-nine percent of the vehicles around here, nevermind the fact that this truck is shiny and new compared to everyone else's faded and worn.

New Guy strolls into the single motel in town just as Angela returns. The sound of a plate hitting the distressed counter makes Bella smile as she turns back to face her friend. A slab of Angela's much-loved carrot cake sits in front of her, a generous dollop of ice cream on the side. Her carrot cake competes as town favorite with Billy's cobbler.

"On the house, to help you recover from Jakey boy's incessant pestering," Angela tells her with a smirk.

Bella takes the first bite before admitting, "If I keep getting free carrot cake he can keep pestering as long as he likes. Mm-mm."

While Bella eats, Angela sips her tea and begrudgingly admits that standing all day isn't something she can do at this point in her pregnancy. She grins and thanks one of the regulars when he drags a stool around the counter for her. "Oh, I meant to ask you! Did you manage to find a new vet yet? Mom has a friend of a friend looking for a job. I don't know if he'd be up for moving or anything, just thought I'd mention it. I have his details written down somewhere."

"Dad has it in hand," Bella grumbles, licking crumbs from the corner of her mouth. Angela snorts a laugh, clearly seeing that the open veterinarian position in town is still a sore subject with her friend—not that Bella ever tries to hide it. "I don't know why he won't just let me help. He just keeps saying 'don't worry, Bells, it's all in hand'."

"Then I'm sure it is," Angela tells her softly, looking far too much like she's enjoying her friend's grouchiness when it comes to this particular subject. "Besides, Quil's still around for emergencies, isn't he?"

Nodding, Bella admits, "We've had to call him out a few times since he announced he's retiring." Until someone takes over full-time, though, they're stuck. The nearest equine veterinarians are hours away. Quil, though getting on at almost seventy-six, is the best they have right now.

.

.

When Bella walks into Sam's a little while later, she snorts and shakes her head. Her dad is parked exactly where she left him in the back room, a selection of cards fanned out in one hand, an espresso in the other. His best friend, Billy Black—also Jake's dad—is opposite him, and they've been joined by Quil Ateara and Harry Clearwater. They all have dark hair sprinkled with gray and lines that tell stories etched into their faces; they could almost be brothers.

"That's bullshit, Harry," Charlie grumbles. "They can't do that."

Harry shrugs and hides his grimace behind the rim of his ceramic mug. "It is what it is, Charlie. We lost half our cattle to the ranchers, you know how it goes. No cattle, no money. The bank will foreclose if we don't figure somethin' out."

As Bella feels her stomach knotting, she watches Billy slam his fist on the table-top. "I told them this'd happen. The RCMP...they need to get their finger out."

"All right, break it up," Bella finally sighs, knowing the discussion will quickly turn heated if it continues. She steps further into the room so they see her, laughing lightly when they all grumble lightheartedly.

"I s'pose you've come to spoil our fun," Charlie harrumphs, drinking the last of his espresso in one gulp before setting the glass down with a thunk.

"I have," she admits, squeezing his shoulders. "We've got mouths to feed and an office to organize."

All four men groan. "Good luck, Charlie," Quil tells his friend with a gleeful grin. "And that's why I pay my granddaughter to keep the books in order, so I don't have to."

Charlie dumps his cards down on the table and sticks his hat back on his head. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you fellas tomorrow."

"Bye, Bella," Quil, Harry, and Billy chime like the well-behaved boys, er, men, they haven't been in...well, ever.

"Bye, guys."

Fighting the impulse to grab the handles of her dad's chair, Bella follows him out into the store, shooting Sam a smile and a wave as they pass him helping a customer choose a new set of chaps.

"Out-of-towners," he mouths over the customer's head with a wink.

After hovering close enough to help Charlie pull himself into the truck should he need her, but not close enough to start him bitching about how his legs don't work but his arms are just fine, Bella hefts his chair into the truck bed beside the feed they collected earlier, slamming the tailgate and hurrying around to the driver's side to join him in the cab. "Okay, let's get back."

"Yes, let's," Charlie mumbles absentmindedly, reading something on his cell. A few minutes into the drive home, his phone pings and he barks a laugh as he reads the incoming message.

Flicking her eyes sideways at him for a moment, Bella asks, "Who's got you cracking up?"

"The new vet."

Bella brightens up. "Really? You found somebody?"

"I did."

Waiting for a moment, Bella asks, "Soooo? Where's he coming from? When does he start? Who is he? Does he like horses? Is he qualif—"

"Dammit, Bells," Charlie chuckles, stowing his cell in his plaid shirt pocket. "D'you think I'm dumb or somethin'? Of course he's qualified. He'll be starting soon, and you'll find out the rest when he gets here."

Chastened—but also more than a little relieved—Bella sighs and relaxes into the worn leather seat at her back. "All right, all right, old man."

Nodding happily to himself, Charlie reaches over to switch on the radio so they can drive home in listening to something other than the truck sputtering and rattling.

.

.

When Dave and Freddie's hoots and hollers herald their arrival home later that day, Bella grins and drops her brush in the bucket at her feet.

Chester's dark eyes watch her as she gives his coat an appraising glance, deciding he's looking pretty perfect. Dave's low whistle as he steps into the barn confirms her opinion.

"Lookin' good, bud." Tossing his backpack toward the food bins, he runs his hand along Chester's haunches and back before giving him a pat on the shoulder and twisting his fingers through his mane.

"He sure is," Bella sighs proudly. After closing Chester safely back into his stall, she turns and rests her folded arms on top of the door. "So, first week of school...how was it?"

With a mumbled "eh", Dave lopes over to the snack fridge and yanks open the door, returning with a carrot for himself and one for Chester, too. "It was okay, I guess. Same old stuff, different grade."

A flush tints his ears as he bites the end of his carrot and holds out the other so Chester can take it; Bella opts not to mention her son's red ears but there's no hiding the smile playing on her lips. Clearly something different happened. It's not often her usually outgoing eldest suffers with the blushing that drove her crazy as a teenager.

"Mom," he groans, fighting a laugh himself. "What's with that look?"

"What look?" Feigning innocence is always the way to go. "I'm not doing anything...there's no look!"

"There so is. C'mon, what are you not saying?"

"Nothing, I swear!" she laughs, letting herself out of the stall. Mock-punching her son on the arm as she passes, Bella picks up her brush bucket and motions for him to follow her. "Come on, let's get back to the house. Grampa'll be bitching that he's hungry."

"He's always bitching that he's hungry," Dave points out.

"That's true."

"Well if people spent more time cookin' than gossipin' out in the barn, Grampa wouldn't have to bitch…"

Dave and Bella erupt with laughter at the raised-eyebrow, yeah-I-heard-you look on Charlie's face as he meets them at the barn doors.

"Oh yeah, I heard you two," he tells them haughtily, turning to lead them back toward the house with a squeak of his wheels. "You better be prepared to make me a slap-up dinner as penance, that's all I'm sayin' on the subject."

"You got it, old man," Dave promises, stealing Charlie's hat and placing it on his head. "But you'll have to catch me, first." He takes off with a whoop, jogging backward with his grandfather in hot pursuit. "S'that as fast as you can go? Where's the sports mode button on that thing?"

"Why, you little…" Charlie growls, dust and dirt flying around his wheels as he speeds up to chase Dave.

Shaking her head at their antics, Bella follows them all the way to the house and trails behind them as Charlie zooms up the ramp after his grandson, the boards creaking under their weight. "It's like I have three kids, I swear," she murmurs, but her smile as she watches Dave give his grandfather's hat back is a fond one.

.

.

"Mornin', baby."

"Mornin', Ma," Dave mumbles, scratching his bare stomach as he shuffles into the kitchen.

Bella smiles into her coffee as he pours himself a cup and adds an unhealthy amount of sugar before falling into a seat opposite her, resting his forehead on his folded arms. "Late night?"

"Kinda," comes his muffled reply. Tipping his head so he can look at her with his bleary blue eyes, he adds, "You know I was back late. I saw your light on."

There isn't even a hint of embarrassment at being caught in Bella's expression as she shrugs lightly and reminds him, "I'm your mom, Davey. I worry."

"I was with Lucy, Mom. World's biggest goody two shoes."

Despite calling her a goody two shoes, Dave wears a wide—if sleepy—grin at the mention of his girlfriend. They've been joined at the hip since they were eleven-year-old middle schoolers.

"Hmm, well…" Always excited by opportunities to embarrass her sons, Bella's eyes crinkle with her smile as she says, "I'm too young to be a nana, so of course I worry when you're out late."

Dave blanches. "Mom! Why would you...I'm too...man, you're hard work in the morning," he finally huffs, glowering at her across the table.

"Yeah, yeah. You love me."

"I love you, Mom!" Freddie mumbles, joining his mom and brother with Chase hot on his heels.

Bella's goofy grin widens as her youngest plants a loud kiss on her cheek before plopping himself down at the table. "I love you, too, Fred." Clapping her hands quietly, very aware of her dad sleeping just down the hall off the kitchen, Bella eyes her sons. "All right, shall we get going?"

Only one of the boys jumps up from his seat. Dave groans and bitches for a few moments, decants his coffee into a travel mug, then gets up to fetch a t-shirt and hoodie before following Bella and Freddie toward the door. They wait for him on the porch with amusement coloring their features. They're the early risers of the family, while Dave gets his love of sleeping in from the boys' dad. If Charlie hadn't been up until well past midnight playing cards with Billy, Quil, and Harry last night, he'd have been up and raring to go, too.

As it is, Bella doesn't expect to see him before ten, if experience is anything to go by.

The sweet scent of straw and aged wood fills Bella's lungs as she steps into the barn. The horses shuffle in their stalls; at the end of the aisle, Chester sticks his head over his stall door and flares his nostrils at her with a soft whinny.

"I'm coming with your breakfast, big guy. Be patient," she laughs, heading straight for the feed bins as the boys consult the chalkboard on the wall to see who can go out into the pens and who needs attention first. They're a well-oiled machine, Bella, Dave, and Freddie. The boys were born and raised here; they've grown up living the ranch life just like she did, just like Charlie, and the four generations of Swan ranchers before him.

.

.

"Come on, Winter," Freddie cajoles, tugging the lead rope attached to a stunning, barn-sour warmblood. His owners asked Bella to work on his confidence but as yet, he's been resistant to everybody but Freddie—and even he hasn't always been successful at getting the gleaming white gelding to leave the safety of the barn. Today, however, his gentle coaxing eventually does the trick.

Bella watches with pride as her son reassuringly strokes Winter's neck, leading him out into the sunshine toward the round pen. Crossing over to lean in the doorway, her eyes follow Freddie as he releases the horse, his laughter bright and sunny as Winter sticks close even with no restraints, butting his shoulder with his soft nose. Freddie shakes his head and pulls a handful of carrot sticks from his pocket, encouraging Winter to follow him around the pen.

"He's a soft touch, huh?" he calls, spotting his mom spying on him.

Laughing, Bella heads out into the sun, taking her hat off with one hand to run the other through her short, dark hair. "He's a sweetheart," she agrees. "Did Mr. Newton tell you that Grampa Charlie bred Winter's father?"

Freddie's dark blue eyes widen. "No way! That's so cool." The boy reaches up to stroke soothing circles around the gray smudge on Winter's forehead, amusement coloring his tone as he asks, "So Winter is like...my cousin? Grampa's son's son…"

"I don't know, Fred, I guess so?" Bella laughs, trailing off at the sound of a car. They both watch as a black truck swings onto the track and meanders toward the house; the tinted windows give nothing away but Bella remembers a tall man heading into the motel when she saw the same truck yesterday.

"Who's this?" Freddie calls, upending a bucket of feed into the trough for Winter before slipping between the wooden log fence posts to join Bella as she walks toward their visitor with a slight frown knotting her eyebrows.

Just as they near the truck, the door of the house flies open. Charlie rolls himself out onto the porch with Dave close behind him, Chase launching himself over the steps to bark at their guest.

As she watches the tall, broad-shouldered form climb from the truck, Bella's stomach flips and she's thrown back into the past—to a time when she was the age her eldest son is now.

To a time when 'love' meant the same as 'forever' and thoughts of spending her life on the ranch would have made Bella hysterical.

That year, as summer came to a close, everything changed.

And now…

"You're back!" Charlie crows, letting himself roll down the ramp with a wide grin on his face. Bella watches with her heart thumping in her ears as New Guy, who isn't really new at all, pulls her dad into a man-hug complete with back slaps and Charlie's laughter-infused curse when his hat gets knocked off his head.

Butterflies the size of eagles flap in Bella's stomach. Her eyes remain riveted to the man's broad shoulders and back as he catches up with Charlie, Chase circling his legs with his curious nose working and his tail whipping side-to-side.

I can't believe it's him.

Before he can turn and spot her, she edges backward and hides in the barn behind the heavy wood doors; close enough to still hear their conversation, but out of sight.

"Bella's around here, somewhere, but let me introduce you to Freddie."

"Hey, dude. Freddie McCarty."

Despite the maelstrom of emotions making her heart pound and her pulse race, Bella can't help but smile at her son's cheerful introduction.

"Nice to meet you, Freddie. I'm Edward Cullen."

There's a long pause before anyone says anything. Bella leans forward, peeking through the door jamb. Freddie's head is cocked, but she can't see his face to try and read his expression.

"Cool. So, uh...are you here to stay at the dude ranch? 'Cause if you are, you missed the turning."

Charlie barks a laugh and twists his chair side to side by messing with the wheels. "No, Fred, he's not here to stay at the dude ranch. Edward here's our new vet."

.

.

What started as a gentle breeze early this morning has strengthened into a consistent wave of cool, fast-moving gales. Bella rubs her chilly hands together, gazing out at the valley below. Their neighbor's horses graze happily on the long grass, their coats gleaming in the late afternoon sunshine. Her lips curl up into a tiny smile as her eyes follow a small russet colt. He prances between the other members of his herd, his short mane and tail jet black, his coat a dark, burnished copper.

Deliberate, loud footsteps behind Bella give her a heads up that she and Chester are no longer alone. Chester shifts underneath her; he turns his head, wide, dark eyes assessing the threat.

Bella calms him with a gentle neck scratch. She knows the only threat here is to her. Chester is just fine. It's not his heart that stands to be broken.

"He's a cutie. The colt."

That voice...before today, two decades had passed since she last heard it, but she'd be able to recognize it anywhere.

"He sure is." Sighing, Bella hangs her head for a moment before twisting slightly in her saddle. Her eyes sting as she lets herself take in a face that's familiar, yet also oddly unfamiliar.

Twenty years changes a person. There's a huge difference between seventeen and thirty-seven and it's sheepishly staring her in the face.

"You ran off," Edward accuses, twisting a blade of grass between his fingers.

Bella snorts before she can stop herself. "Really? You came all the way out here to compliment a horse and be a total hypocrite?"

"Ouch." Edward blows out a breath, rubbing his jaw. "I guess I deserve that."

"You guess?"

Edward edges closer, carefully running his hand along Chester's side until he's in line with his shoulder. Close enough to touch, if Bella were so inclined—which she isn't, at all. "Bella, I'm sorry. Showing up like this...I guess I didn't think it through."

"This is what you didn't think through?" Shaking her head, Bella clicks her tongue and lightly flicks the reins. As Chester turns in a wide circle, she eyes Edward. He looks good. Annoyingly good. The past two decades have treated him well. He's filled out; no longer the lean, swimmer-shape teenager she remembers, he's a broad-shouldered man. The windbreaker he's wearing clings to muscles he didn't have twenty years ago, but she's almost amused to see that his love of Chuck Taylors never died. The pair on his feet are worn and obviously loved.

Now closer to forty than thirty, Bella is generally pretty sure of herself and her looks. Her pregnancies gave her curves and a healthy lifestyle keeps her fit. Her skin is clear and she's often told that she doesn't look a day over twenty-five, let alone thirty-six.

But looking at Edward, she suddenly feels unsure of herself. It's not something she's used to.

"And the vet job? Seriously? I mean, you were never even interested in being a vet."

"Not until that year I spent here, no. My time here changed a lot of things for me, Bella."

Bella chews her cheek for a moment before gritting out, "Yeah, it changed an awful lot for me, too." Her hands tremble around the reins as she squeezes her legs slightly, urging Chester on.

Edward doesn't say anything, but Bella feels his eyes on her back until she's out of sight and hidden by the trees.

.

.

Knives and forks clinking against plates is the only sound around the dinner table that evening. Bella sits between her boys, Edward opposite her and Charlie at the head of the table.

Rolling peas around her plate, she's startled from her thoughts by her dad loudly clearing his throat.

"So, Edward. Where are you staying?"

"I've got a room at the motel in town on a day-to-day basis. I'm hoping they'll keep me around long enough to find somewhere decent and within my price range."

A heavy rock lands in the pit of Bella's stomach. Before Charlie even opens his mouth again, she knows where he's going with this line of conversation.

"Well, we've got room—"

"Where, exactly, do we have room, Dad?" she asks too loudly; the boys peer at her with wide eyes, Edward purses his lips, and Charlie raises an eyebrow as his mustache twitches and he sets down his knife and fork.

"I'm sure the boys wouldn't mind bunking together for a little while, Bells. Right, boys?"

"Sure, Grampa, that's fine," Freddie shrugs, nonplussed.

Gritting her teeth, Bella makes her cutlery squeak against the plate as she cuts her steak. "No, boys. You shouldn't have to do that."

Fiery caramel eyes meet narrowed dark brown. A battle of wills.

"Well, what do you expect me to do? Put him in the barn?"

The why does he have to stay at all? is on the top of her tongue, but Bella is very aware of her sons watching her and Charlie like a fascinating tennis match. Then there's Edward remaining silent though his eyes dart between her and her dad, too. "I just think," she grits out, "that Edward might be more comfortable at the motel until he finds his own place."

"I, uh…" Edward clears his throat, avoiding Bella's narrowed eyes when they land on him. "I'd actually be really happy to accept your offer and stay in the barn, Charlie, if that's all right. There's barely enough space in my motel room to swing a cat, let alone keep all my stuff. Plus I can start getting acquainted with everything, meet the horses..."

Charlie grins. "See, Bells? It makes sense to have Edward nearby."

"We don't mind sharing Dave's room, Mom," Freddie pipes up softly, his eyes flicking over to Dave's barely stifled smile. She knows exactly what that's all about, too. It's a pure coincidence, she's sure, that they're happy to share Dave's room—which also happens to be the only room in the house other than the living room with a working TV.

"I appreciate the offers, guys, but the barn is fine," Edward tells them with a smile, turning to Charlie as he starts to argue. "Honestly, Charlie, it's a million times better than the motel. I have to fold myself in half to fit in the bed and the shower's about five feet tall."

"Well, all right, then. The barn it is...right, Bells?" Charlie's dark eyes widen just enough that Bella knows it wasn't really a question, and even if it were, she doesn't really have a choice here with all four guys ganging up on her.

Sensing that she's going to lose this battle, Bella caves. At least he'll be out in the barn, and hopefully he'll be busy running around town soon anyway. She won't have to see him that much.

Bella shakes her head and stands abruptly, taking her plate and turning to dump it on the counter. "Do whatever you want, Edward. I don't care."

But they all know she does—and that's the problem. She cares too much.

"I'll be outside," she finally sighs, the screen door slamming shut behind her.

It isn't long before she has company.

Dave lopes out, climbing up to stand with her on the log fence around the round pen.

"What was all that about? Do you guys know each other, or somethin'?"

"Or somethin'," Bella breathes. Her eyes follow the mare and her adopted foal in front of her. They're ready to go home now they've bonded properly; she makes a mental note to call their owner in the morning about picking them up.

"So, look...we really don't mind bunking up so Edward can stay, Mom. It's not a big deal. I mean, it won't be for long anyway."

"It's up to you, then."

Hopping lightly down from the fence, Bella heads for the barn. Her lips twist into a small smile when she hears Dave following.

"This is awkward as hell, but, ah...did you and this Edward guy...ya know, hook up?"

Bella's always prided herself on having an open and honest relationship with her boys. They've always been great about coming to her with things, and in turn, she always endeavours to be straight with them.

Talking about past relationships though? Not happening.

"Dave…" she warns quietly, grabbing Chester's lightweight blanket before letting herself into his stall. It's getting cold at night and her boy's a sensitive soul when it comes to the weather.

Dave comes to lean on the door. "What? I think it's a fair question. You obviously know each other."

"We're...old friends, I guess you could say."

Over Chester's back and out of the corner of her eye, Bella sees Dave's arched eyebrows and rueful smirk. "That didn't much seem like a reunion between old friends to me, Ma. You couldn't even look at the guy."

The whatever is on the tip of her tongue, but when did she regress into a teenager?

About the time a certain green-eyed, asshole ex-friend rolled up and destroyed my weekend, Bella thinks.

"Do I have to explain my entire life's history to you?"

Rather than be annoyed by her slightly exasperated tone, Dave seems amused. He chuckles and adjusts his hat. "Nah, that's okay. I haven't got all night."

"Why, you…" Laughing, Bella grabs a handful of pellets from Chester's trough and tosses them at her son, who simply guffaws at her lame effort.

"Nice shot, Mom. One or two of those actually got close."

The light atmosphere evaporates quicker than lightning as Edward steps into the barn, lightly clearing his throat to announce his arrival. Bella eyes the duffel in one of his hands and the roll-along suitcase in the other.

"I uh, I hope this is okay?"

Bella can feel her son's eyes bouncing between Edward's cautiously hopeful expression and her own, less-than-impressed scowl. "It's fine. Right up...uh, you know where you're going," she cuts herself off halfway through giving him directions. He knows where the loft is.

"Thanks, Bella."

Dave and Bella watch him trudge up the wooden steps into the loft. Only once the door has clicked shut behind him does Dave let out a long, low whistle.

"Aight, I'm gonna hit the hay. You need me to do anything before I go?"

"No, you're fine. I've just got to bring Carlie and Jack in, it'll only take me a little bit. You get some sleep. You've got school tomorrow." Managing a weak smile, she blows him a kiss over the stall door. "Sweet dreams, Davey."

The lights haphazardly fixed to the side wall of the barn illuminate Bella's path as she heads out to the round pen to fetch the mom and baby. She can't resist pausing to give baby Jack a little attention, though. The sweet foal nuzzles her hands as she loosely loops a rope around his neck, knowing he'll follow his mama inside anyway, before clipping a lead role to Carlie's halter and leading them both out of the pen toward the barn.

As they step inside, Carlie's hooves loud on the cobble floor, Bella misses a step and stumbles slightly before righting herself. Edward is leaning against the wall of the stall at the other end of the aisle, opposite Chester. "I can't believe this guy is still here. How old is he now?"

Closing Carlie and Jack in for the night, Bella forces herself not to look at Edward as she hangs up the ropes. "Twenty-six."

Harley is the only horse still here, the only one he'll remember from '97 and '98 when he was last at the ranch. He's a stunning paint gelding with the most beautiful hazel eyes Bella's ever seen.

That year, that summer...he was Edward's, just like she was.

When he left, it wasn't just Bella who missed him.

"Hey, fella," Edward says softly, looking at Bella when Harley keeps his back to him. "Is he okay?"

Hesitating, Bella debates her words. "Did you honestly expect everyone you abandoned to welcome you back like you never left?"

When Edward doesn't say a word, she shakes her head with a humorless smile and turns to return to the house.

* * *

**The next three parts will be coming over the course of the day! I hope you're enjoying it so far...xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **A horse ranch in the Canada wilderness, a single mother of two rambunctious teenagers, and a green-eyed, stethoscope-wielding blast from the past. Life rarely cooperates with even your best-laid plans, so sometimes all you can do is adapt and adjust. Did you feel that? It's the winds of change. Written for FAGE 11 as a gift for EternallyCullen.

**Winds Of Change**

**Part Two**

The following morning dawns bright and clear. It's a beautiful day. Perfect for a trail ride.

Charlie and the boys join Bella out in the barn before Dave and Freddie have to head off to school, helping her turn out the horses and dish out food and water. She's just shooing them out of the doors toward the school bus when Edward jogs down the creaky stairs. He's swapped yesterday's windbreaker and jeans for a shirt, sleeveless padded vest, and cargo pants. The sneakers have been switched out for safer, steel-toe boots. A stethoscope hangs around his neck and he's carrying a leather bag as he pauses in the doorway.

"Morning, guys. Morning, Bella."

"Hey, Edward," Freddie offers him a back slap on his way past. "You got a callout already?"

"Yep, first one. The Mallorys?"

Bella can't help herself—she snorts. "Good luck with that."

Edward's amused green eyes find her as his lips curl into a smile. "I don't...what do you mean?"

He clearly doesn't remember.

"Nothing, I don't mean anything. Just...good luck with your first callout."

Turning her back to him, she continues brushing Harley.

"All right, see ya, Mom, bye Grampa!"

Freddie and Dave walk Edward to his truck before jogging up to the bus. Bella watches them all leave before crossing her fingers, hoping—

"All right, Bells, you and I need to have a chat."

Shit. Should have known he'd choose today to stick around in the barn.

"About what, Dad?"

Charlie harrumphs. "You know full-well about what. What was all that last night?"

"Dad, can we not do this? Please? Can you just trust that I'll play nice from now on?"

"Oh, I know you will, because we need Edward and I know you have better manners than you showed him last night."

Thoroughly chastened, Bella turns to offer her dad an apologetic little smile. "I'm sorry, Dad, I just...why did it have to be him?"

"Why not?" Charlie frowns. "Bella, I know you don't like to talk about the time around my accident, but—"

A ball of lead drops into her gut. Resting her forehead on Chester's back, she tries to rein in the tears threatening to fall, the panic bubbling in her veins. "I can't...I can't do this."

"No, honey. You can't avoid this. Not forever. It's been long enough, Bells."

The click of the stall door opening tells her he's not giving up, not this time, but the thought of talking about it, the very worst time in her life...she breaks out in a cold sweat and reminds herself of the coping mechanism her therapist gave her.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five…

A warm, weathered hand finds hers; Charlie twists their fingers together and squeezes. Sucking in a deep, hay-and-horse scented breath, Bella opens her watery eyes to meet her dad's worried gaze. Behind the bewilderment, she can see that he's wondering, trying to remember things that were stolen from him the moment his head hit the ground that fateful end-of-summer day.

"What happened, honey? Tell me."

Bella wants to. She wants to tell him everything so he knows the truth about what happened all those years ago. It's always killed her that he's missing a big chunk of what made her into the person she is today, but how can she spoil the perfect image he has of Edward, of that time he spent working the ranch alongside Bella and Charlie?

"He left, Dad...he left and he didn't say 'goodbye', he didn't even tell me he was going."

Confusion steals the annoyance from Charlie's eyes.

"I've never wanted to sour your opinion of Edward, Dad, but he let me believe he, that he...and then he left."

It takes a moment, but it's obvious when Charlie realizes exactly what Edward let her believe.

He let me believe he loved me.

"You...you two were, together?" Frustration knots his brows and purses his lips as he frowns. "I don't remember…"

Regret spreads through Bella's veins. She knows how much Charlie hates not being able to remember things. Most of his memories came back over time; all returned except the six months or so before the accident. The doctors warned them this might happen. They warned him that he might regain some memories or none at all. He's lucky, but Charlie remembers the good times with Edward, not the way he held her through her crying fit when she realized her best friend had left, or the weeks Bella spent lamenting Edward's lack of contact after he returned to New York.

It always seemed kinder to let him believe that Edward just went home to start college in the fall. Now, Bella wonders if she should have just been honest all along.

Would he have welcomed Edward back with open arms? Bella doubts it.

"Bells, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's not your fault, Dad." Giving their joined hands a little shake, she musters a smile. "It was a long time ago. I'm over it," or I should be, "it was just a shock to see him out of the blue like that. I'll apologize later."

Mollified for now, though Bella can see the guilt swimming in his eyes, Charlie nods. "All right, that's good enough for me."

As Bella leads Chester out of his stall and ties him up in the sunshine while she gathers his tack, Charlie wheels himself into the office and promises to call her if he needs anything. With Jake off sick as of Saturday afternoon, they're a little short-handed—but that's nothing new. People aren't exactly jumping at the chance to work at a horse ranch these days, especially not when they're a dime a dozen and the pay is meagre at best.

"Don't forget the guys from the dude ranch are checking out later today!" Bella calls to his back, shaking her head with a quiet laugh when he barely pauses, lifting one hand from the wheels to offer her a thumbs up before disappearing into the office. Out of everyone in the family, Charlie was the least concerned about the dude ranch. He wasn't even a little bit onboard with Bella's idea to start it up and turn one corner of their lake into an area for six cabins, a pontoon complete with two small row-boats, and a mini barn.

Its relative success in the first few years helped win him around, of course.

Next April marks the first decade of the Swan Ranch Retreat opening, and in those ten years it's expanded and become popular with companies from all over. As she saddles up, Bella decides to head out and check on the four investment bankers from Chicago currently occupying the cabins. They've been easy guests, only requesting dinners and the occasional trail ride during their three weeks here. The rest of the time they've been happy to entertain themselves with their fishing poles and the large lake beside the cabins.

Turning his head to look at her, Chester snorts and paws the ground.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Bella laughs, gathering the reins in one hand and holding the back of the saddle with the other as she uses the stirrup as a leg up. Settling herself on his back, Bella gives him a quick pat on the neck before squeezing her legs. "Come on, then, Mister Impatient."

As they trot away, Bella pushes all thoughts of Edward's reappearance from her mind and promises herself she'll speak to him properly later.

.

.

A few days later...

"Mom? Where are you?"

Shaking her head, Bella strokes Harley's forehead. "Always with the shouting, huh, boy?"

Harley gazes back at her with dark, solemn eyes.

Leaning over the stall door, she...well, she shouts, "In here, Fred!"

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

After double-checking Harley's food and water, she lets herself out of his stall in time to watch Freddie enter the barn with Edward trailing behind him. They both look guilty as hell.

After raking a hand through his hair, Edward stutters, "So, uh, you see the thing is, Bella…"

Freddie barks a laugh. "Oh, man, Grandpa's right. You really do turn into a girl when Mom's around. Filing that away for further inspection." While Edward rubs his necks and pointedly ignores Bella's amused gaze, Freddie turns to his mom. "What Ed was trying to say was that he promised to take me into town but now he's scared to ask if it's okay with you."

Snorting, Bella heads into the office, her stomach flip-flopping. Freddie follows her, but Edward hangs back, leaving mother and son to their conversation. "Fred…"

"Mom," the boy groans. "That's your 'I'm saying 'no' but it's for a good reason' voice." He makes quotation marks around 'good reason', smirking when she cocks an eyebrow at him and sinks into the squeaky desk chair with a sigh. Eyeing her son, Bella tries to picture herself saying 'no' to him going into town with his friends, schoolmates, people she hasn't even met. Unless he was skimping on his chores or had other commitments, she knew it wouldn't happen. This is only different because it's Edward, and they both know it.

It's been four days since he showed up, completely out of the blue—as far as Bella is concerned, anyway. Charlie knew about his imminent arrival for two weeks before he actually got to the ranch.

In the four days since he moved into the barn, Bella has to admit Edward's been nothing but nice. It's been a huge adjustment for him, going from busy New York to Swan Ranch, but he's settled in and thrown himself into helping out whenever he's not out tending to the neighbors' livestock. It's weird to see him in a veterinarian capacity. When one of the dude ranch horses needed a check-up yesterday, she almost called Quil just to avoid the odd atmosphere that surrounds her and Edward whenever they're around each other.

"All right, you can go—"

"Yes, thanks, Ma—"

"If Davey goes with you," she finishes, stifling a grin at Freddie's whine.

"Are you kidding? He hasn't moved off the sofa all day. There's no way he'll agree."

Shrugging, Bella turns to the paperwork piling up on the desk. Invoices, boarding enquiries, disclaimers that need filing...this is going to kill my afternoon, she realizes.

"Urgh, fine. If Dave comes, I can go?"

"You sure can."

As Freddie turns to lope out of the office, Bella reminds him that he and Dave still need to pack for a week at their dad's.

"I know, I know!" he calls over his shoulder. "He's pickin' us up after dinner!"

Throughout the afternoon, while she organizes the office, Bella's mind wanders—to the horse who's going home tomorrow, to the new arrivals they're expecting next week, to Edward's presence wearing down her walls, and to the boys' dad picking them up for a week.

Ever since they split up back when the boys were five and seven, they've managed to keep things civil and friendly. They hammered out arrangements to make sure Dave and Freddie get to spend time with both parents, and any occasions when they should both attend—birthday parties, school recitals, riding competitions—they stand on the sidelines together and cheer for their sons. Their dad's been away for six weeks on a business trip, so he invited Dave and Freddie to stay with him for a week upon his return instead of their usual weekend and one or two afternoons in the week. When it was suggested a few weeks previous, Bella thought it was a good idea. But now, when the boys are gone, it'll leave just her, Charlie, Jake, and Edward on the ranch. There will be less distractions. Less people to keep Edward occupied so he doesn't pay her too much attention.

Speak of the devil…

"Uh, Bella?"

Spinning in the chair, Bella manages a smile. "Hey, Edward. What's up?"

Shifting awkwardly in the doorway, Edward launches a wave of nostalgia into the room. He looks less like the almost-forty-year-old he is today and more like the seventeen-year-old he was when he last lived on the ranch.

"I'm on call, but I wondered…"

Bella frowns as she watches him suck in a big breath, his chest expanding with his substantial inhale. He looks like he's summoning courage.

"If you're free for a bit, I wondered if you'd come for a trail ride with me."

It comes as a surprise to both of them when Bella only hesitates for a moment before agreeing.

Edward's eyes widen. "Really? You will?"

"I will," she nods, gesturing at the stack of paperwork in the tray labelled 'to do'. "Anything to avoid this lot for a while." Frowning, she asks, "I thought you were going into town? Fred asked if he could go with you."

"We've put it on hold. Dave didn't fancy it, and Freddie's buddy called while he was in the middle of trying to bribe him."

With a roll of her eyes, Bella admits that it doesn't surprise her Freddie tried to bribe his brother. They often try to trade chores to get what they want.

The grin that steals over Edward's face makes Bella feel warm. She shakes off the sensation and pushes away from the desk.

"So, you'll come for a trail ride? Have you got any recommendations for me? Horses, I mean," he asks.

As they walk out into the main barn area, Bella peers up and down the aisle. Some of the horses are out in the fields, but she quickly spots the perfect candidate. "You can take Meadow. She's the most well-behaved and great with rookies."

"Hey, who're you calling a rookie?" Edward laughs, crossing over to greet his new friend. Meadow's white ears perk up, her soft mouth nudging his hand when he reaches out to pet her. "I may not have ridden for a while, but I'm no tenderfoot. It's like riding a bike, right? You never forget."

Snorting, Bella hefts her saddle from the rack, carrying it to the stand before returning to grab one for Edward. He puts out a hand to stop her, lifting the saddle easily. His short sleeves mean she has a front-row view of the way his biceps shift and tighten.

Holy hell, he's ripped. The thought is as unwelcome as it is unexpected. A rush of heat floods her cheeks as Bella ducks her head, concentrating on taking Chester from his stall and tacking him up while Edward does the same with Meadow.

This...feeling of attraction toward Edward—it can't continue. Bella let herself fall into that trap once before and it broke her heart. She spent months getting over the boy who stole her heart before stomping all over it. That's not a time she wants to revisit or repeat. Sure, he's grown up a lot since then. They both have. He's spent that time studying to become a veterinarian, something she never could have pictured when he rolled up in the fall of '97.

His motorcycle roared into town while his cocksure crooked grin wormed its way into her heart.

Then he left, and later that year, Bella's life fell apart. Charlie's accident changed things. A lot of things. Her future, her plans to travel and study in the US...they collapsed. Living and working on the ranch was never her life's dream like it was Charlie's. She made no secret of that fact.

But when Charlie and his horse were knocked down by a logging truck just six weeks before Christmas, all that changed. He lost the use of his legs and almost everything he'd worked so hard to build. The ranch was in trouble, his medical bills were astronomical, and things looked pretty bleak. Then the McCartys came along—

"Are you ready?" Edward's warm hand on her shoulder startles Bella from her musings. She snaps out of it with a silent gasp, blinking up at his confused, furrowed brows. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm f-fine." Blowing out a long breath, she forces a smile. "Sorry, I got lost in thought." Tightening the strap under Chester's belly, Bella unclips the lead rope from his halter and flips the reins over his head to lead him outside. With a brightness she doesn't feel, she calls over her shoulder, "Shall we go? I've got to be back in time to see the boys off later."

.

.

"This place...I don't know how I forgot how beautiful it is."

Bella can't help but smile, loosening the reins so Chester can graze a little. The ravine rushes below while sparrows play amongst the shrubs. There's a gentle but cool breeze playing with the ends of Bella's hair; she pulls her jacket up around her neck and sighs, gazing out over the glorious scenery she gets to call home.

"It's definitely a lot different to the mean streets of New York," Bella murmurs, knowing she needs to make more of an effort to kill the awkwardness between her and Edward. Small talk might not be the best start, but it's a start nonetheless.

Edward barks a laugh, stroking Meadow's fine, sandy colored mane. "That's an understatement. You don't get views like this in New York, that's for sure."

After a pause, he rummages around in his jacket pocket, producing his cell. When he offers it to her a minute later, they both have to lean in their saddles so she can reach. The image on the screen makes Bella sigh softly. "Wow."

It's obviously a view of a park—Central Park, maybe?—from a very tall building. Trees and grass and other skyscrapers fill the screen. Bella can't even imagine the real magnitude of it all, having never been anywhere near a big city like that. It's pretty, though. Striking.

"It's a great view, but it doesn't beat this," she tells him with a teasing smile, tossing the phone back.

"No arguments from me. That picture was taken from my parents' place. Mine had a not-so-great view of the neighboring building's rear wall."

Restless, Chester shifts under Bella and fidgets until she laughingly tells Edward they should probably keep moving. Their horses move happily alongside each other while Edward and Bella alternate quick peeks at each other when they think they won't be caught. Despite the heaviness of words unsaid and their unmentioned past, Bella can't silence the realisation that she's enjoying herself. When he's here, when he's soft-spoken and kind the way he was with only her back then, he's a great guy to be around.

The last few days have shown her that he's changed a lot, not just in appearance, but in personality. There are times when the old Edward shines through—his crooked smile, his love of the outdoors, his need to keep busy. He was never good at sitting around as a teenager. He's no better at relaxing now.

The silence between them is only nice for so long. Eventually, Bella can't stifle her curiosity any more.

Chewing her lip, she glances at Edward from the corner of her eye. "Is that what made you leave? The bad view, I mean."

Edward seems to weigh his thoughts, toying with the reins in his hands. Meadow doesn't need guiding all the time if she's with Chester. They've been stable neighbors for several years, and they'll always stick together if they have the choice.

"I need to be careful with what I say…" he finally says.

With furrowed brows and pursed lips, Bella stares at Chester's ears as they veer back onto the path they abandoned earlier in search of a clearer view. Trees shadow the track, dappled sunlight painting the ground. "Why?"

Sighing, Edward wryly murmurs, "Because I've been waiting for this for years and I don't want to screw it up by saying the wrong thing now. I don't want to scare you off." Shooting her a quick, half-hearted grin, he adds, "You're kinda skittish, you know."

"I'm not skittish, just...careful." Even as she says the words, Bella knows she's lying. She is skittish, and Edward isn't the first one to say it.

"Careful, right."

Another few minutes of silence pass by before they both suck in deep breaths and start to speak at the same time.

"I came to see y—"

"Look, Edward—"

Laughing awkwardly, Bella gestures for him to go on. He does, with a soft huff of breath and a long look at the sky. "I never should have left the way I did, Bella. I was a dumb kid and all kinds of messed up. My life was a trainwreck, and then you...you were so amazing." Drawing Meadow to a halt, Edward climbs down from her back before holding out his hand to Bella.

Nerves spread over her skin like a web as she hesitates for just long enough that Edward's hand begins to lower. She drops the reins and twines their gloved fingers together before he can drop it completely, her cheeks flushing with warmth as he helps her down with one hand in hers and the other on her waist to steady her slightly skewed landing. It's been a long time since she's had anyone help her off her horse.

Much closer than they have been in years, Bella's both surprised and not to feel her body reacting to his proximity. Her skin warms, her stomach flip-flopping. There's also a rush of nerves.

He broke my heart once. He could do it again.

Sighing with an almost exasperated smile, Edward reaches up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. He toys with it for a moment, obviously noting the much shorter length. It fell to the small or her back when she was a teenager. She often wore it in a plait he loved to tug.

Lingering on her cheek for a long moment, his fingers brush her skin and raise goosebumps on her arms. "Oh, to know what's going on in that beautiful head of yours."

"Edward…" she breathes, unable to pull herself away from his intense green gaze. Up close, his endlessly long lashes and striking jade eyes are even harder to resist than she remembers.

A soft squeeze of his hand at her waist reminds Bella that they're way too close for people who have their history. Taking a big step back, she sucks in a deep breath of forest and dirt scented air. The loss of warmth when his hands fall away from her elicits a shiver.

"I'm sorry, I didn't...you see? I'm messing this up." The hat comes off his head so he can tug his hair. "I fucked up, Bella. I fucked up and I'm sorry. I've spent the last twenty years trying to work out where my life went wrong and it took...well, it took something big to make me realize it was right here, with you, that I made the most mistakes."

Drowning. Bella's drowning in his words, his eyes, the emotions he wrings out of her without shame or apology.

"Why didn't you call?" she finally croaks around the lump in her throat.

"I was scared. I knew I'd fucked things up by leaving like I did. I was used to hating myself by then. I didn't want to resent you for tearing me a new one if I called, even though you'd have been well within your rights to do that."

"You would have deserved every rotten word I would have said," Bella tells him quietly, not entirely teasingly. She was a teenager, still months from eighteen. She knows full-well that none of the things she would have called him would have been nice; passing years and growing up have changed her views and how she might have reacted had she been older and wiser at the time.

"I know, Bella." Closing the gap between them, he cradles her cheek in one large hand. The cool, buttery soft leather of his glove feels like heaven against her heated skin. "I like to think I would have accepted it like a man. Today, I would. I will, if you want—"

"I don't!" she blurts. "I did, when I first saw you. But I don't want to yell at you or dredge all that stuff back up. It's in the past. I want to call a truce, I want to move forward. You're here, and it seems like you're sticking around this time…"

As she trails off, Bella knows he can see the tentative hope in her eyes. The plea for him to tell her she's right, that's he staying.

"I won't make that mistake twice, Bella. I left you once. I don't know that I could do it again."

"Stay, then." Smiling shakily, Bella lifts her hand and rests it over his, leaning into his palm slightly. "Stay, and let me get to know the man you've grown into."

"I'd like nothing more," he whispers.

.

.

The rest of their trail ride is notably less emotional. They finally clamber back onto Chester and Meadow when they realize they're pushing it if they want to make it home in time for Bella to see the boys off to their dad's. Their conversation as they ride flips from what made Edward decide to go to school to become a vet, to how Bella ended up running the ranch, then to her plans for the future—expanding the dude ranch, possibly adding a couple of tipis or a building where all the guests can eat together.

They move through the forest at a trot until the buzz of Bella's phone distracts her.

Dad's here. Are you on your way back?

"Shit. That's Dave. We've got to hurry it up."

With a smirk, Edward shoots her a wink and flicks his reins. "Well, let's get going, then." Meadow takes off at a canter. Chester is only too happy to follow his friend. Their hooves thunder against the ground, beating the earth as Edward's and Bella's exhilarated laughter bounces off the tall pines.

Holding the pommel of the saddle with one hand, the reins in the other, Bella can't stifle her ear-to-ear smile. Part of her still distrusts Edward. He really did a number on her when he left, and him showing up unannounced came as a massive shock. Her initial reaction was to run, to hide, to avoid him. After a few days, after seeing him with Charlie and interacting with her sons, Bella can't deny that he's changed. He isn't the boy she knew; he's no longer the boy she loved.

He's a man now. A man who may occasionally look like that boy, but one who has a totally different attitude and outlook on life.

Knowing that, seeing it, feeling his touch on her skin and his eyes seeing through to her soul...she feels relaxed and relieved in a way she hasn't for a long time. She can breathe when she looks at him. Her heart races when he speaks to her in that soft, gentle tone he uses with the most skittish horses.

He called me skittish.

Bella has no idea how she feels about Edward, no idea where they go from here, but it doesn't matter. She meant what she said—she wants to call a truce, to leave the past in the past and move forward with a future. One in which she can have him back as her friend.

As they slow to a trot and turn onto the road leading down to the house, Bella sighs. A familiar silver truck sits outside the house, and when they pass by to head into the barn, she can see the broad shoulders and back of her ex-husband through the kitchen window. Dismounting beside the round pen, Bella quickly removes Chester's saddle and bridle, looping his rope halter over his head to guide him into the round pen. Edward's lack of experience means he's a bit slower, but as Bella helps him, she sees the contemplative look on his face and realizes he's got questions. Questions he'll get the answers to as soon as he steps foot in the house.

"The boys' dad, Bella...you were married?"

Sucking in a deep breath, she nods and preoccupies herself with the task at hand, avoiding his gaze. "Yes. We were married for seven years."

Edward hums. "Dave mentioned that he was seven when you split, so you got married when you were pregnant, I guess?"

Memories of walking down the aisle with her thirty-seven-weeks-pregnant belly leading the way make Bella smile despite how her marriage ended. The small chapel a few miles south was perfect for the small wedding; the bride's and groom's families totalled around twenty people, so they moved to the lodge for their after-wedding meal before heading to his parents' hunting cabin for their weekend-long honeymoon.

The following morning, Bella went into labor. By the time they'd been married twenty-four hours, they had their beautiful baby son, Dave Jackson.

Edward's hand coming to rest on hers pulls her from her memories. His smile is faint, his eyes beseeching. "Bella, did I ever meet him?"

Before Bella can speak, a high-pitched shriek and feet thumping the ground precede a small body slamming into her legs. Her lips curl up as she and Edward peer down at the blonde ringlets and toothy smile looking between them.

"Bella! I was waitin' for you for so long!"

"Sorry, sweetheart," Bella coos, lifting the little girl into her arms. Facing Edward, she bounces Lily in her arms. "Lily, this is Edward. He's our new vet."

Nobody can resist Lily's charms, or nobody Bella knows, anyway. She has the most adorable dimpled smile and these big blue eyes that remind her of her own boys when they were her age. It doesn't come as a surprise that Edward falls completely under Lily's spell as soon as she offers him one of her bright grins.

"Hi, Edward. I'm Lily Rose." Clumsily holding up three fingers and holding down the rest with her other hand, she tells him, "I'm two—umm, three! I'm three!" With a sweet giggle, she shakes her head. "I had my party in June. I was three."

Bella smiles and mouths birthday party as Edward grins back at Lily.

"Well, Lily, I'm Edward Anthony. I'm thirty-seven, so I'm a whole lot older than you."

Wide-eyed with her lips pursed in an 'O', Lily's gaze jumps between Bella and Edward. "That's older than Daddy!"

"It sure is, Lilybug," Freddie laughs, loping over to join the gang.

Lily leans out of Bella's arms to fall into Freddie's, her small hands squeezing his cheeks. "You comin' to my house, now, Freddie?"

Bella feels Edward's eyes on the side of her face as she smiles at her son's goofy, squished grin. "Sure am, Wilywug. Wet go of my face, weirdo."

Laughing happily, Lily releases him and scrambles down, charging toward the house. Her daisy-print boots kick up dust and dirt, her curls golden in the fading sunlight. She thumps up the porch steps as Charlie rolls out in his chair, Dave and his father close behind him.

Bella hears the whoosh of air Edward expells, her stomach knotting.

"It's Emmett? Emmett's your ex-husband?"

"Yes," she whispers, watching Emmett, Charlie, and Dave goofing around on the porch. They all quit their nonsense when Lily stands in front of them, hands on her hips, and tells them to 'quit acting like ashholes'.

"Mispronunciation or not, Rose is gonna kill Dad for that one," Freddie mumbles with glee, tossing his arm around his mom's shoulders.

"Rose?" Edward asks softly, his eyes sort of far away as though he's only partially paying attention to the answer.

"My stepmom," Freddie supplies, completely unaware of the tension mounting between Bella and Edward. They walk toward the house to join the others. "She's always telling Dad off for cussing in front of Lilybug. She said 'fuck' at preschool the other day."

"Language," Bella warns without any heat, turning her head to mouth I'll explain to Edward. He nods, but the smiles he gave her before Lily literally crashed into her are absent.

One step forward, two steps back.

"Sorry for showing up early, Bells. Apparently I was doing Rose's head in, so she kicked me out," Emmett laughs as they approach.

"That's okay, don't worry. Ah, Em, you remember Edward Cullen. He's our new vet." Chewing her lip, Bella watches as recognition lights the blue eyes Emmett handed down to Dave, Freddie, and Lily.

"So I heard. Welcome back, man. How've you been?" There isn't a hint of animosity in Emmett's face as he takes the porch steps in one big stride before thrusting a hand out toward Edward, but Bella was married to the man for seven years. She shares children with him. She also knows that he has some very specific opinions of how she could be handling Edward's reappearance in their lives—none of them are even a little friendly. The unspoken are you okay? is clear as day, although he's too polite to voice it, especially in front of Edward. She gives a minute shake of her head, a not now, and he drops it.

She hopes Edward will do the same.

"Hello, Emmett. I've been good, thanks." He shakes Emmett's hand, but nobody's missing the undercurrent of something in the air between the two men. Bella's eyes dance between her dad, whose eyes are wide as he messes with his mustache, Dave, who's leaning against the porch post with his arms crossed over his chest and a passive expression on his face, and Freddie, who has decided the weird, silent staring match going on between his dad and Edward is thoroughly boring.

"Hey, Lilybug, you wanna say 'hi' to your pony before we go?"

The little girl squeals, leaping off the porch and into her brother's arms. "Let's go, let's go!"

The two of them take off toward the barn, Lily screaming mush from her brother's back.

Clearing his throat, Charlie neatly turns his chair, rolling himself down the ramp to join the little group by the steps. "So, that's that out of the way."

Dropping Edward's hand, Emmett turns to smile broadly at Bella. "Well, I'll see you Wednesday."

"Yep," Bella murmurs, wincing as he pulls her into a hug. "I'll just go get Fred and Lily."

It's only as she turns to hot-foot it toward the barn that Bella realizes she might have been better off playing intermediary between the two men.

"So...what brings you back after all this time? You left like your ass was on fire. Didn't expect to see you again after the mess you caused."

Shit.

Freddie and Lily are walking out of the barn, hand-in-hand, as Bella approaches. They're both beaming, but Freddie's smile slips slightly when he gets a good look at his mom's face. "Are you okay, Mom?"

"I'm fine!" she tells him—too brightly, too loudly. His brows furrow. "Are you all ready to go to your dad's? You've got everything?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so." Adjusting his ball cap, he wiggles the hand joined with Lily's. She beams up at him. "I've got my Lilybug, and that's all I need."

Not for the first time, Bella is glad Freddie got the chance to be a big brother to his little half-sister. More children are off the cards for her, being single and all, but when Emmett married Rosalie four years ago and then they had Lily, Bella couldn't have been happier for her ex-husband. He deserves happiness. Their marriage fell apart because they were childhood friends who'd fallen into something more. Neither blames the other, and neither regrets their time together. After all, they got two great sons out of their marriage and seven wonderful years of marriage.

"C'mon, Freddie. You got'sta meet my new fish. He's called 'Daddy', like Daddy!"

Lily tows Bella and Freddie back to the house with her small hands in theirs. Emmett, Dave, and Charlie have moved over to the truck while Edward has disappeared—presumably into the house. Bella looks around for him as Freddie lifts Lily into the truck.

"Bella! You need'ta give me a hug!"

Smiling distractedly, Bella hurries to give the girl a hug before giving her sons the same treatment. Around family, Dave and Freddie are her sweethearts. Affection is a given. In public, it's another story.

"I'll see you Wednesday, okay? Be good for your dad and Rosalie."

"We will, Mom," they chorus with grins on their faces.

Pursing her lips, she pats their cheeks, then draws them in for a group hug. "All right, get. I'm looking forward to a week of peace and quiet."

It's a big fat lie. She already misses them and they haven't even left the property yet.

"Yeah, yeah. You're gonna be so busy doing all the work without us, you won't even have time to be sad that you can't moan at us for taking too long in the shower," Freddie teases.

That...is true. Bella laughs, shaking her head and leaning against her dad's chair as Dave and Freddie clamber into their dad's truck. Rolling away, Charlie mutters that it must be time to eat soon.

Emmett lingers for a moment before sighing and offering her a wry smile. "Don't let him break your heart again, all right?"

The car doors are all closed and there's no way the kids heard his soft words, but Bella panics all the same. "Emmett!" she hisses, grabbing his arm to tug him away from the truck as discreetly as possible.

"I was here, Bells. I saw how it affected you when he took off." Shaking his head slightly, he glares over her shoulder. "Look, I'm not going to tell you what to do. I just don't want to see this guy waltz in and upset you. I was the one who picked up the pieces last time, remember."

Bella wants to argue. She wants to tell him he's wrong, that Edward would never do that—but once upon a time, he did. He broke her heart. And Emmett was the one who gathered up the pieces and painstakingly put them back together again. She can't deny that, and she wouldn't anyway. But it stings to have to admit, even just to herself, that he's got a point. The high she felt when they were out in the woods...that's gone. Washed away by Emmett's cynicism and the knowledge that he's right to be wary.

"I'll be careful, okay? I will."

As soon as the words are out, Bella realizes there's more to them than she intended. She knows Emmett will read into them. The slight narrowing of his eyes and furrowing of his brows tells Bella she's right, too.

"That's all I can ask, Bells." A tiny smirk crosses his lips before he leans in and plants a kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you Wednesday."

"Uh, okay…" Confusion tints her dark eyes as she watches him climb into the truck with the kids, her lips curling up when Lily waves, stopping only to punch Dave on the arm and tell him to wave, too. He complies with her demands wearing a silly, resigned little smile.

It's only when the truck has turned out of sight that Bella realizes why Emmett looked so smug when he leaned in to kiss her cheek—a out-of-character gesture.

Turning toward the barn, she freezes. Edward's jade eyes stare back at her before he spins on his heel and disappears behind the tall doors.

* * *

**Next part coming soon :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: **A horse ranch in the Canada wilderness, a single mother of two rambunctious teenagers, and a green-eyed, stethoscope-wielding blast from the past. Life rarely cooperates with even your best-laid plans, so sometimes all you can do is adapt and adjust. Did you feel that? It's the winds of change. Written for FAGE 11 as a gift for EternallyCullen.

**Winds Of Change**

**Part Three**

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Holy—Edward!"

Edward's lips kick up in a tiny smile as he leans against the frame of the feed area. Blowing out a long breath, Bella palms her chest, her heart thumping fast under her hand.

"You scared me."

"Sorry." As she picks up the scoop she dropped when he scared her half to death, Edward asks again, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" Her teeth trap her lower lip. "I'm sorry, that was unfair." Dropping the scoop back into the feed bin it came from, Bella stands up straight and brushes invisible dust from her jeans. Edward's gaze is soft when she raises her eyes to his face. "I didn't know how to bring it up, and you didn't directly ask until he was already here. I knew what you'd think as soon as I said it, and we had such a nice time on that trail ride…"

The dappled sunlight and sweet scent of the pines invades Bella's senses for a moment before Edward's footsteps snap her back to the present. He stops a couple of feet away, his hands jammed in his pockets. "I get it. I guess I just...I'm proving you right, aren't I? I reacted exactly how you thought I would and played right into your hands."

"Yeah, kinda," she admits softly. "I never lied, though. Nothing happened between me and Emmett until way after you left. It was almost a year, actually."

The guilt that blankets Edward's face spears Bella in the gut. Clearly he didn't wait that long. Why it hurts, she can't understand, but it does. While she was here, devastated that he'd abandoned her and then nursing her father after his accident, he'd forgotten all about her.

"After what I did, I have no right to be upset, Bella. Nor do I have any right to ask...never mind."

"Why did we divorce?" Bella sighs, perching on the edge of the counter beside the sink. "The truth? We just never should have gotten married, really. We did it for all the wrong reasons—all the cliché reasons. Our parents wanted it to happen, then I got pregnant with Dave, and it just seemed to make sense at the time. But I'll never think of my marriage as 'failed'. It may have ended, but it didn't fail."

Bella opts not to mention that Charlie is now betting on her marrying Jacob-freaking-Black, but regardless, it's never happening.

"We knew by the time we had Freddie that we were falling apart." A faint smile crosses Bella's face. "My precious little whoops baby."

Edward snorts a laugh at her description of her son.

"He's the best surprise I've ever received," Bella clarifies. "I couldn't live without either of my boys. Dave came along at a time when I really needed something good, something positive. And when we split, having them to chase after meant I didn't have time to mope or dwell on things."

A sympathetic, sad sort of look takes over Edward's expression. "Charlie's accident. I didn't hear about it until months later. Uncle Carlisle had to explain it to me over and over, because I just couldn't believe it was true."

"Neither could I," Bella says softly. "When I got that call...they yanked me out of class and sat me in the principal's office until Anna McCarty—Emmett's mom—could get there. She stayed with me while they explained what had happened, then she drove me to the hospital to be with Dad." A lump lodges itself in her throat. "It looked like we were going to lose him," she finally croaks.

"Hey," Edward croons, bending his knees slightly so they're eye level. A light shudder ripples down her spine as he trails the back of his hand over her cheek. "You didn't, Bella. He's right up there in the house, snoring like a train."

"God, like a train is right."

Sucking in a deep breath, she nods, unconsciously leaning into his touch.

"Anna and Geoff...they were amazing. They helped out with the finances and Dad's medical bills, and when he came home they arranged for nurses to help him and sent Emmett and his brother, Dale, over to help with the horses so I could study. I wouldn't have graduated without them."

She doesn't need to explain that this is when things between her and Emmett started to change. Throughout Edward's time here, he met Emmett—he was jealous of him. Nobody could have missed it, least of all Emmett. He loved riling Edward up by hanging over Bella and repeatedly pointing out their friendship, though Bella hadn't noticed it at the time. It wasn't until a few years later that Emmett admitted what he'd been up to.

Edward's jealousy—which had seemed ridiculous to her at the time—suddenly made sense, not that it mattered to her by then. He was long-gone.

It's obvious that Edward hasn't totally forgotten all the times Emmett purposefully wound him up.

"I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. I have no right to question how you lived your life after I left. Besides, you and Emmett have brought up two great boys."

Nothing makes Bella smile like the thought of her sons. "They're the best. I'm lucky to have them both."

"And your relationship with their dad is still...amicable?"

Stifling a smile, Bella hums. "We're friends, Edward, that's all. Emmett and Rosalie have been married over four years now. He was never the love of my life and I was never his."

The relief that steals over Edward's face surprises Bella, but in the next moment, she realizes it shouldn't have. There's something there in his gentle caress, the intensity of his gaze, and the rushed thrum of her heart whenever she looks at him.

Fighting the feelings he elicits within her is necessary, but Bella isn't ready to accept that losing is a given.

.

.

Ever since she was a child, Bella has woken with the sun. The day after the boys left with their dad is no different. She's outside in the barn before the sun is completely visible, her well-loved hat on her head and a flask of coffee on the upturned bucket just out of reach of Chester's hooves.

"Did you have a good sleep, Chester?" she asks softly, brushing a lock of his mane out of his eyes. Gently butting her chest, he snorts. "I'll take that as a yes, then," Bella laughs, heading into the store room to find her brushes.

The creak of feet on the stairs alerts her to Edward's presence. She chews her lip, waiting to see if he goes straight out or lingers in the barn.

"Hey, there, buddy," he says, presumably talking to Chester. Slowly and carefully, she moves to lean in the doorway. His broad back is to her as he runs his hand along Chester's back. "I could use your help, you know. You fancy putting in a good word for me with Bella?"

Even though she's trying to keep him unaware of her, Bella can't help but let a laugh escape when Chester perfectly times a shake of his head, as if saying 'no'.

Edward spins, his smile a touch bashful and a smidge wry when he spots her. "Good morning, Bella."

"Good morning, Edward. Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, no, you're fine. I promised the Johnson boy I'd come by first thing to check on his donkey."

"Ah," Bella mouths, setting the brush bucket down just out of reach of Chester's hooves. He's got the irritating habit of kicking it over; she's sure he does it just to be a brat. "Henry."

Nodding, Edward cocks his head. "You know him?"

"Of course. Henry's in the same year as Freddie. They hang out sometimes. Henry actually brought Billy out here to board him when they went on vacation last summer."

"I forgot how sociable everyone is out here," Edward admits.

"We're a tight-knit community, for sure. You'll get used to it if you stick around."

Avoiding looking at Edward, Bella doesn't see the frown on his face or the way his chest heaves with a silent sigh. "You still don't believe that I'm going to stick around, do you? You're just waiting for me to disappear again."

Only the sounds of horses shifting in their stalls and Chase barking at something outside can be heard for a long moment. Bella finally breathes a shaky sigh and peers over Chester's back. Edward gazes back at her with sadness softening his jade eyes and his lips curled downward.

"A part of me is, yeah. I can't help it. I spent a year learning to trust you last time, Edward, and look where that got me. If I'm going to trust you again, I need time, okay?"

Something akin to determination seeps into his face. A shiver ripples down Bella's spine. "Time. I can work with that."

.

.

And work with it he does.

Over the following weeks, Bella watches him slip into ranch life as if he were born for it. He switches the NY Giants cap he brought with him for one of Charlie's hand-me-down Stetsons, and the Chuck Taylors only see the light of day when he heads into town to hang out with the friends Jake introduces him to. The pair of them—Edward and Jake—make an odd duo, but it somehow works. Bella often finds them goofing around together when Edward is between call-outs and Jake should be working.

Edward also makes friends of her sons. If he's not working, with Jake, or catching up on sleep, he's helping the boys with the math homework Bella can't stand or knee-deep in straw in the barn helping out with the chores. There's no denying that it makes her feel all warm and gooey, seeing him interacting with Dave and Freddie. The boys think he's great—they even invite him to their dad's annual fall cookout. It's awkward at first, of course, but beer and burgers loosen the atmosphere and everyone's tension.

Even Chase, typically protective of his family and unwilling to let outsiders infiltrate their circle, throws himself down for belly scratches whenever Edward is around.

Traitor, Bella thinks affectionately as she watches exactly that from the front door. Fall has transitioned into an early winter, snowfall blanketing the ranch in sheets of beautiful, crisp white snow. With no way to get the bus out to the remote ranches, the boys' school has already called several snow days—not that Dave or Freddie are complaining, although Bella wasted no time putting them to work as soon as they got up.

They've been outside clearing snow with the blower and shovels for almost two hours; they've almost made it halfway up the drive at this point. They've earned a break.

Pushing the door open, Bella interrupts Chase's belly scratches by calling, "C'mon in, fellas! I've got coffee and fresh cookies!"

Her lips break into a smile as Dave and Freddie hoot and holler, tossing down their shovels and jogging toward the house.

"Thanks, Ma," Dave grins, planting a kiss on her cheek as he stamps his feet to rid the soles of snow before stepping inside.

"Hooey, you're so cold!" she hisses with a laugh, leaning away from him.

"Well, duh. We've been outside since ridiculous o'clock," Freddie tells her dryly, following his brother into the house. Their cries of delight when they see the fire crackling in the hearth and find the mugs of hot coffee on the table make their mom sigh and shake her head.

Then Edward steps up onto the porch with Chase at his side and she can't help but sigh for a completely different reason. Pink-cheeked and grinning lopsidedly, he looks adorable. His beanie covers his mane of red-brown hair and he's swapped his usual sleeveless jacket for a thick, fleecy coat.

"I don't suppose there's a hot drink in there for me, is there? I'm fuc—er, freezing."

Snorting a laugh, Bella nods and tucks her hands in her armpits. "There is. And you know as well as I do that those boys cuss more than you and I combined. There's no need to censor your language around those yahoos."

Edward's smile widens as he murmurs his agreement. "Yeah, okay."

They stand and stare at each other, goofy smiles firmly in place until Dave booms, "AY! That's my cookie, fucker!"

Rolling her eyes, Bella kicks her foot backward at the wall. The thump precedes Dave's and Freddie's tandem, "Shit, sorry, Mom!"

"Oh, because that's better," she says with a shake of her head.

"Hey, at least they apologized," Edward tells her, reaching for the door. They head inside together, Chase running ahead to plop himself down in front of the fire.

"Thanks, Mom, this is great," Freddie tells her happily, a mug of coffee in one hand and a cookie in the other.

"Yeah, thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, boys. Edward, yours is on the table." Shooting the preoccupied boys a quick glance, she leans in to whisper, "I saved you a plate of your own cookies. They're in the bottom of the oven."

There's no containing the broad grin that spreads across Edward's cheeks; and no hiding the flush that covers Bella's face as she peers up into his happy green eyes.

"Thanks, Bella," he whispers right back before crossing the kitchen in three long strides to get to his stash.

Bella expels a rush of breath, a sigh of what the hell am I doing here?

It's foolish to think going there, pursuing anything more than friendship, with Edward is a good idea. Ludicrous, in fact.

But Bella can't lie—she can't stop thinking about it. With every passing day he's proving that he is, indeed, sticking around. With Charlie's permission, he's even invited his aunt, uncle, cousins, mom, and dad out to celebrate Christmas with the Swans. They've got the dude ranch reserved for the Cullen invasion.

Then there's the conversation she overhead the other day between her youngest son and her father.

"Do you think Edward will come watch me in the rodeos in the summer, Grampa? I was showing him my roping the other day and he said he used to do a little bit when he was younger. It'd be cool if he could help me practice."

Charlie cleared his throat. "I don't know, son, maybe. He's a busy guy, you know?"

"I know, it'd just be cool. Dad's not into roping, Mom's a girl, and you're too bossy as a trainer."

"I resemble that remark," Charlie teased.

Snorting, Freddie told him, "You mean 'resent', Grampa."

"I'll have you know it's my legs that don't work, not my head. I know exactly what I meant, whippersnapper. Now, be a good kid and grab your old Grampa a beer from the fridge, will ya? I'm parched."

Bella had scarpered before Freddie could find her eavesdropping in the kitchen, but two days later she'd returned from a trail ride with some dude ranch guests and found Edward helping Freddie perfect his roping technique outside the barn.

Seeing them do that, goofing round and having fun together as if they'd known each other forever, made Bella wonder if she had any chance at all of keeping Edward at arms length.

.

.

Mid-December...

Walking through the squeaky doors, Bella immediately regrets stopping at the diner instead of heading straight home.

Angela's dark eyes narrow as soon as she spots her. With a crooked finger, she motions for Bella to take one of the stools at the counter. "No more avoidance tactics, missy. Sit."

"Yes, Ma'am," Bella mumbles, glancing at her watch. It's only an hour to go until the boys need picking up, so she has the perfect excuse to escape. Sliding onto a stool, she accepts the cup of coffee Angela hands her. A smile curves her lips. "Not long to go, Ang."

Rubbing her enormous bump, Angela hums. "A few weeks. I'm due New Years Eve, so technically little Jamie's arrival could be three weeks away, yet." Sighing, she admits, "Ben and I...we're both ready for him to just be here already."

"He'll be here before you know it, and you'll be bogged down with diapers and exhausted from no sleep, but it'll be the absolute best time of your life."

"I don't doubt it—but enough stalling."

Bella manages a weak, guilty smile as Angela huffs and leans against the counter.

"How are things going with Dr. Dolittle?"

Rolling her eyes, Bella shakes her head and stares into her coffee cup. "Good. Great, even." Blowing out a long breath, she smiles wryly and meets Angela's amused gaze. "It's somewhere between 'like he never left' and 'I keep forgetting he's back'. So...it's weird, to be honest."

"I think the only weird thing about the whole situation is the fact that you've yet to jump the guy's bones, Bella."

Wide-eyed and flushing beet-red, Bella hisses, "Angela! What do you—why would—urgh, I can't believe you said that!"

"What? Everyone in town is thinking it."

From the other end of the bar, one of the other local ranchers quietly clears his throat. "'Scuse me, Ang. Please can I have a refill when you've got a sec."

"Sure thing, sweet," Angela tells him brightly before turning back to Bella and holding up a finger. "Wait one minute. I'll be back."

While Angela busies herself making a fresh pot of coffee for Mr. Samuels, Bella twists herself side-to-side on the stool and toys with the scenario her friend put in her mind.

Jumping Edward's bones...now there's a thought. One that's crossed Bella's mind more times than she cares to admit.

When he's bare-chested and damp from a shower on his way back to the barn, when he grins at her across the round pen, when she catches him watching her from the hayloft window in his typical vet get-up and he shoots her a wink…

But most of all, when he's his silly, sweet self. When he laughs and teases her dad, when he rolls around on the floor with Chase, and when he goofs around with her boys.

Whenever she leaves them unattended for any substantial period of time, Bella can be almost a hundred percent certain that she'll find the three of them—Edward, Dave, and Freddie—slacking on their chores together when she returns. Quil insists on taking a day or two a week on veterinarian duty, already bored of retirement just as everyone who knows him suspected he would be, so on those days, Edward spends his free time riding and helping around the barn. Being back here on the ranch after his time in Ithaca, where he studied veterinary medicine, has given him the opportunity to hone his riding skills. Bella's lost count of the amount of times she's gone out to the barn only to find Meadow—and Edward—missing.

"Okay, I'm back," Angela sighs, sitting heavily on the stool she keeps behind the counter. Bella offers her a wan smile. "You were thinking about him, weren't you? You always wear the same smile when you're thinking about Edward."

"That's not true," Bella protests, but it's half-hearted at best.

"It so is, don't even try and argue." Her smile slips slightly. "Are you worrying he'll take off again? 'Cause I think he's changed, Bells. He seems a lot different from that crazy, jaded boy who showed up all those years ago."

It's true. He is different—a lot different, like Angela says.

When Edward showed up the first time at seventeen, he was lost. His aunt and uncle, old friends of Charlie's, sent him out to Swan Ranch for a year to 'get his head on straight' after he got himself in trouble with the law a few too many times. Minor infractions, but enough to land him in hot water frequently enough that they thought the peace, tranquility, and distance from his troublemaking friends would do him good.

They didn't know how right they were.

That time out here with the Swans...it really had changed Edward for the better, and everybody can see it. He's a million miles from the kid he was the last time he lived out here. Now a respected veterinarian and a mature, well-rounded man, he has everyone in town eating out of the palm of his hand. It seems like there isn't a person he can't charm with his crinkly-eyed, lopsided grin.

"He's changed, all right," Bella murmurs. "He's still him, though. Still the boy…"

"You fell in love with? The boy you'll never be able to shake? The boy who's grown into a man you're falling for?"

Tears unexpectedly spring to Bella's eyes as she clutches her coffee cup tight, her voice coming out thick. "All of the above?"

With a quiet sympathy softening her eyes, Angela reaches over to cup Bella's hands between her own. "Hey, you don't need to get upset, Bells. I think you've spent a lot of time, a lot of years, looking out for other people. Your dad, your boys...even the horses and the ranch. Don't you think it's time to look out for you for a change?"

"Ang, it's not that simple."

"Sure it is! Look, you like Edward, right?"

Heat pinks Bella's cheeks. The trouble with lifelong friends is that they often know when you're lying. Angela would see the lie in Bella's face the second she tried denying that all her old feelings for Edward have come back tenfold, so she sees no point wasting her breath. "Yeah," she finally sighs.

Angela's gleeful grin is almost too much to bear. "I don't think there's any denying that he likes you, too. If you want my opinion—"

"Which I don't," Bella interrupts cheekily, laughing when Angela sticks her tongue out before continuing.

"—I don't think he ever stopped. I happen to think his feelings for you are his main reason for coming back here."

Bella's stomach knots. "Why would he uproot his entire life in New York to come to a little ranch out in the middle of nowhere? For all he knew, I could have been married...I was married."

"And maybe he knew that you weren't married anymore? I don't know, Bella, I just can't help but think that you have more to do with his relocation than his want to be a small-town vet."

As Bella's cell pings with an incoming text—a message from Dave letting her know that he and Freddie are done with their haircuts early—she musters a smile and tries to push all thoughts of Edward's possible motivations behind moving from her mind. With a group of corporate dude ranch guests arriving later today and only one cabin currently clean and ready for occupancy, she has plenty to fill her time. Forgetting about Edward should be easy.

'Should' being the key word.

.

.

"Aight, I'm goin' to bed," Dave groans, stretching out and unleashing a body-shaking yawn. His eyes water slightly as he grins sleepily and leans in to kiss his mom's cheek. "I'll see you in the mornin', Mom."

"All right, honey. I love you."

"Love you, too, Ma."

As Dave wanders down the hall to his room, Bella turns to Edward in time to see his wide, soft smile aimed directly at her. "What?"

Thoroughly nonplussed at being caught, he shrugs and crosses his legs, one ankle resting on the other knee. "Those boys are a credit to you, Bella."

Pride imbues Bella's tone as she sighs, "They're total mama's boys, aren't they? I love it."

"It's funny...for someone who always said you wanted to get off this ranch and travel the world before settling down, you seem to have a great life even though you did things the other way around." The curiosity and genuine happiness in Edward's face takes away the sting of Bella acknowledging that her life has turned out completely different from how she ever imagined.

"I wouldn't change it for the world. Not this ranch, the life I lead, my boys…" Smiling up at the mantle, where a collection of photos display all the best moments of Bella's and the boys' lives, she admits, "I thought I wanted off this ranch but I'd have missed out on so much if I'd left. Dad's accident put a completely different spin on everything and totally changed the way it all panned out. That's not to say I'm glad it happened, but…"

"I get it," Edward tells her softly, his eyes glowing a beautiful moss green in the light of the crackling fire. "There are things about my life that I never, ever, pictured happening, but I believe in the power of fate. I believe there was something pushing me to better myself. I'm certainly glad Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle persuaded Mom and Dad to ship me out here all those years ago. I'd never have met you, I'd never have discovered my love of horses."

Snorting, he unfolds his legs to lean across and take a sip of the bourbon sitting on the end table. "I definitely wouldn't have gone back to school. Realistically? I'd probably be in jail now, or worse."

Bella remembers the things Edward told her his friends had done; the things they'd asked him to do. Up until the time they met, he'd managed to keep his nose relatively clean. His crimes were petty, nothing worthy of jail time. If he'd remained friends with that same group of people upon his return to New York...he might be right. Instead of sitting across from Bella with a college degree to his name, he might be sitting in a jail cell.

It's not a notion Bella can bear contemplating. Her stomach rolls as she bites her lip, twisting the tattered end of the blanket over her legs. The sofa cushions dip beside her, Edward's large hand resting over hers. His gaze is as gentle as his touch.

"I'm glad you came back," she whispers when the silence becomes too much, too intense.

His lips kick up on one side, his fingers tightening around hers. "Me, too. I've spent twenty years wondering if I'd made you a fantasy in my head, wondering if I'd created this amazing version of you that didn't really exist."

As a flush heats her cheeks, Bella fights a smile. "Well? Do I measure up?"

All the air is sucked from the room as Edward sighs, his bourbon-infused breath washing over her as he ducks his head for a moment before meeting her eyes again. "You're so much better than anything I could have dreamed up, Bella," he admits, his voice a low rumble that hits Bella everywhere it counts—mind, body, and soul. Her heart takes off at a sprint.

"Edward, you…" she trails off, entranced by the sudden appearance of his tongue as it sweeps over his full lower lip.

"I, what? Tell me."

With her pulse thrumming double-time and her breath escaping in a rush, Bella gives into the need she's been fighting for weeks, the desperation to see if Edward's kisses are as addictive as she remembers and his touch is as electric.

"You should kiss me."

Surprise lights Edward's eyes for a moment. It's swiftly replaced by lust. Excitement rushes through Bella's veins as he leans in, his thumb sweeping over the back of her hand just as his lips brush hers in the softest, sweetest of kisses—

Thud. "I'm tellin' Mom, you jackass!"

Springing apart, Bella and Edward release their breath in a tandem sigh. Freddie stomps down the hall and into view just as Edward pulls his hand back into his own lap—along with a strategically placed cushion.

"Mom," Freddie growls, obviously unaware of what he's just interrupted. "Dave's taken the remote to my TV and he keeps messing with it while I'm tryin' to watch."

Wishing away the redness of her cheeks, Bella tries to catch her breath. "I'll talk to him, now back to bed."

Mouth agape, Freddie throws his arms in the air. "Are you kidding? I need it back! I'm watching my show and—"

Knowing the moment is lost, Bella mutters a curse and shoots Edward an apologetic glance before standing and steering her son toward his bedroom by his shoulders. "I'll talk to him. You can catch the re-run tomorrow."

By the time Freddie has grumbled his way back to bed and Dave has both apologized and returned the stolen remote, Bella is ready to down the rest of her chardonnay. Edward chuckles lightly, looping his arm around her shoulders when she slumps onto the sofa beside him with a groan.

"All sorted?"

"I think so," she murmurs, tipping her head so she's facing Edward. "I'm sorry. It turns out that cockblocking Dave and his girlfriend for the past year has come back to bite me on the ass."

After a beat, Edward releases a laugh that makes Bella smile despite her frustration. Doesn't he understand that it's been years? Literal years since she had a bone-tingling, toe-curling kiss?

I'll make him understand, Bella thinks, tossing caution and nerves to the wayside and throwing her leg neatly over his lap before she can second guess herself. Edward's laughter dies pretty quickly.

Uttering a growled ffffuck, Edward's hands come to rest on her waist, his eyes wide but dark as he peers at her, searching—for what, she has no idea. "I don't want to rush you, Bella. I...I didn't just come back here to be a vet in the middle of nowhere."

Leaning in to pepper whisper-soft kisses against his neck, she whispers, "What else did you come back here for?"

"Not what," Edward pauses, hissing when she nips the soft skin between his jaw and neck. "It was you, Bella. It's always been you."

Pulling back with watery eyes and her lower lip between her teeth, Bella admits, "I can't wish my boys away, or my relationship with Emmett. My life has been good, great at times, even. I don't regret them." Blowing out a long breath and stifling the shuddering cry threatening to escape, Bella leans in to murmur against his lips, "I never stopped loving you, Edward. Never."

The relief that slides through Bella's veins with her admission is heady. She's never told a soul that Edward has held a piece of her heart all these years, although there are those she knows who suspect.

With a rumbled groan, Edward's hands relocate—one to her nape and one to the small of her back. They pull and press, bringing her as close to him as she can possibly get. Bella isn't complaining. Their lips press together over and over, their tongues tangling and their chests heaving as they give into weeks of temptation, want, and longing.

"I never stopped either, Bella," Edward's words come as they twist, Bella below him and their breath coming in pants. Pressing desperation-tinged kisses against her cheeks, chin, and forehead before returning to her lips, he grins. "This...you...it's more than I could ever have hoped for, but I think we should take it slow. I don't want to mess this up. There's a lot more at stake for both of us this time around."

Bella's mind slowly comes back to her. He's right.

"The boys…"

Edward nods, sitting back on his haunches and tugging Bella up by her hands until they're on folded knees and face-to-face. "They're great boys, Bella. I don't want to piss them off or upset them swooping in and…"

"Stealing their mom's virtue?" Bella finishes teasingly, palming her flushed cheeks. "I haven't dated since Em and I divorced. I have no idea what they'll think, but I know they like you already and they've got good heads on their shoulders."

"But they're also fifteen and seventeen and you're their beloved mom."

"I get it, I do. We'll take it slow and steady. But not too slow, right? We can still do this?"

Caressing Bella's face, Edward smirks. "I hope so. We'll just have to channel our teenage selves so we don't get busted."

"Oh, God...Dad almost caught us so many times, didn't he?"

"I'd still rather it be your dad than Dave or Freddie," Edward says with a wince.

"If we're choosing, I'd rather nobody catch us." Bella trails her fingers over Edward's thigh; his hand captures hers before she can make it to her intended destination. Her cheeky grin contains no guilt whatsoever.

"I think we've pushed our luck enough tonight," he tells her with a soft huff of laughter, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Plus, I have an early-morning appointment with the Mallorys constipated horse."

Snorting, Bella mimes shooting herself in the temple.

"What's the deal with you and the Mallorys? You never told me."

"You really don't remember, do you? When you were here before, Lauren Mallory—the youngest of the daughters, the blonde one?—had the biggest crush on you. She made my life hell whenever you weren't around because she was so jealous."

A frown replaces Edward's confused smile. "You're kidding? I had no idea, Bella, I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I would have—"

"Hey, it's okay. It was a long time ago. Have you seen her around town since you've been back?"

"Once, I think…she's heavily pregnant?"

"That's her." Bella can't help but laugh a little. "She once tortured me relentlessly for becoming a 'baby machine' when I had two kids in two years. The baby she's cookin' now? That's baby number six with Baby Daddy number four."

"Wow," Edward mouths. "That's...a lot."

"Yeah." Sighing, Bella unfolds herself from the sofa and eyes the clock. Ten to midnight. "If you've got an early start, you'd better head to bed. I've got a parent-teacher thing with Freddie tomorrow, so I need to get a head-start in the morning, too."

After a kiss that leaves Bella's blood humming and her heart racing, Edward dons his hat and jacket to hurry out to the barn. She watches him go before making sure everything is switched off and the fire is out, then trudges down the hall, checking in on Dave and Freddie on the way to her room. They're both fast asleep—Dave with his cell still in his hand, Freddie still wearing his headphones.

Chase lifts his head from the foot of Freddie's bed, peering at her with his gentle brown eyes.

"C'mon, pal. You know you're not supposed to sleep in here."

With a sleepy wag of his tail, the dog neatly hops off the bed, following Bella down the hall into her room. He's on the bed, spread-eagle on 'his' side before she's even finished taking care of business in the bathroom. She smiles and climbs in beside him, patting his soft tummy.

Sleep doesn't come easy. Bella replays the entire day in her head as she listens to Chase's quiet snores.

Edward and Dave half-heartedly fighting over the last bagel for breakfast…

Charlie racing the boys up the track to the school bus…

A trail ride with Edward and the new dude ranch guests after frantically preparing the cabins for their arrival…

Dinner cooked outside on the barbecue and eaten inside after Dave burnt the lasagne Bella prepped earlier in the day…

Playing cards around the coffee table with Edward, Charlie, Dave, and Freddie until, one by one, they headed off to bed…

And then those kisses, that talk with Edward in front of the crackling fire…

Bella falls asleep with a smile on her face and excitement for the future she hasn't felt in a long time.

* * *

**Okay, so the last part will be up very shortly!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: **A horse ranch in the Canada wilderness, a single mother of two rambunctious teenagers, and a green-eyed, stethoscope-wielding blast from the past. Life rarely cooperates with even your best-laid plans, so sometimes all you can do is adapt and adjust. Did you feel that? It's the winds of change. Written for FAGE 11 as a gift for EternallyCullen.

**Winds Of Change**

**Part Four**

The following morning dawns bright but cold. The snowy white blanket is thicker than ever after another dusting overnight, the light breeze rustling the trees as Bella and Chester meander through the woods. It's a different kind of atmosphere with the crunch of snow underfoot and the absence of Chase's loud barking. He left early this morning in the front seat of Edward's truck, his tongue lolling and tail wagging a mile a minute.

"Good boy," Bella says softly, patting Chester's neck when he settles quickly after spooking at a sound too quiet for her ears.

They go another fifty yards or so before Chester halts, spinning before Bella has a Chase to correct him. Her lips curl up into a smile. "Edward. What are you doing here?"

Meadow picks her way through the snow and nuzzles Chester as Edward flashes Bella a lopsided, pink-cheeked grin. "I got back early. I'm on call, but I figured I could catch up with you when Jake said you hadn't left all that long ago."

"How did you know I'd come this way?"

Something other than the cold pinkens Bella's face when Edward cocks an eyebrow and points down at the clear track marks the horses leave with their legs when they walk.

"Right, of course. Stupid me."

"You headed out to the ridge?"

"Yep, you want to join me? It's beautiful when it's like this, all snowy and pretty with the mountains in the background."

Nudging Meadow forward with a gentle squeeze of his legs, Edward reaches out to take Bella's hand from her thigh. Twining their fingers together for a moment, he leans in to press a quick kiss to her upturned lips. "I think I've found the prettiest view already, but sure. Let's go."

It isn't at all practical to hold hands while riding, so they let their hands fall and settle for riding alongside each other where the terrain allows, their quiet voices loud in the otherwise silent forest. While they ride, they talk about the life Edward gave up in Ithaca to move out here; the sparsely decorated apartment he hated and the impractical-for-the-wilderness Impala he sold to put a deposit on his truck.

"Don't you miss your parents? And your aunt and uncle?" Bella asks with no small amount of trepidation. Although she believes him when he says he came back, in part, for her, a small part of her still wonders if the novelty will wear off, if he'll realize he misses his family too much to stay over two and a half thousand miles away from them.

"Yeah, I miss them. I mean, I don't miss them stopping by all the time to make sure I'm behaving, but it was nice for a while there once they saw I was back on the straight and narrow." Shooting Bella a rueful half-smile, he admits, "It took years for them to believe I wasn't about to run back to the bad crowd I'd fallen into as a kid. They didn't trust me and I don't blame them. I wouldn't have trusted me either."

Chewing her lip, Bella asks if he's looking forward to their upcoming visit. They'll be here in a few days in time to spend Christmas on the ranch—along with his aunt Esme and uncle Carlisle, and his cousins, Jasper and Peter, who are also bringing their wives and three children between them. Bella can't deny the fact that she's nervous. These are people who all mean a lot to Edward—people whose opinions matter to him.

"Do they...do they know why you came back here?"

"No," Edward says after a brief pause. "They know my time here had a huge impact on me, but I'll tell them, Bella."

Bella's dark eyes flash to his, hopeful and afraid all at once.

"I'm not going to shout about us, Bella, although I want to. This is still new. But I don't want to have to hide my feelings for you forever. Even if I wanted to, my family will see right through it. I'm not that good an actor."

There's no containing Bella's relieved smile. "I don't want to hide this, either."

They're still grinning at each other when they break through the tree line onto the ridge. Their eyes turn to the stunning vista in front of them, snowy white as far as the eye can see with snow-capped mountains separating the ground from the powder blue sky.

Edward's hand releases the reins, lifting out into the gap between him and Bella. She sighs contentedly, reaching for his fingers and embracing the jolt of happiness that his touch ignites.

There are hurdles they still need to face—their families, for one—but Bella's confident they can do it together.

.

.

A few days later…

"Edward, we can't!" Bella giggles, pushing Edward away by his chest.

Shaking his head with a salacious smirk, he asks, "Why not? We're all alone...well, except for the horses, and they have no idea what we're doing—or trying to do."

Heat rises to Bella's cheeks as she shakes her head and twists out of his grasp, heading into the feed room. "But we won't be alone for long. Your family will be here any minute. Do you really want them to bust us like teenagers?"

Groaning softly behind her, Edward hangs his head. "All right, you win. I don't want that. But can you blame me for wanting you? We've barely had a moment alone together since we went for that trail ride out on the ridge."

He's not wrong.

The past few days have been busy with dude ranch guests leaving, preparing the cabins for their soon-to-be-arriving residents, and hiding their budding romance from Charlie, Jake, Dave, and Freddie. Truth be told, they've both enjoyed the added thrill of sneaking around the ranch to find stolen moments of passion. Still, it's no secret that they're both ready for more than that, even after such a short amount of time.

While Edward busies himself helping with the barn chores, Bella shakes her head, memories of the previous night rushing back.

Hot kisses, roaming hands, panted "I want you"s…

"Let's go out to the barn," Edward suggests. "Nobody will hear us out there."

"Okay, let's go."

They both wince when the bedroom door squeaks sharply before gliding silently over the floor; twin sighs of relief later, they're quickly halfway down the hallway believing they're home free...

Then they hear the creak of Charlie's wheelchair on the floorboards and rush to right their clothing and hair before he comes into view.

"What're you two doin' up?" Charlie squints.

"What're you doing up?" Bella bats back, slightly too loud and a touch too frustrated.

"I thought your squeaky door was Chase wantin' to go out."

"Oh. Uh, well no. Edward was just...umm, the window in my room was stuck."

The thud of the scoop falling from the sideboard yanks Bella from her memories. She sighs and picks it up, berating herself once again for her poor excuse. Why would she be worried about a stuck window in the middle of winter? Stupid Bella.

Needless to say they didn't make it out to the barn—well, Bella didn't, anyway. Charlie loitered in the hall until Bella was safely back behind her squeaky bedroom door, and she heard the muffled thud of the front door closing a few minutes later. Edward's text had come through not long after.

I'll be dreaming of you tonight, Bella x

She still had trouble stifling her smile even after grinning her way to sleep last night, her cell in her hand and the text on the screen.

However, the rumble of engines wipes the smile from her face in a second.

"Crap," she mumbles, hearing Edward's footsteps on the loft steps moments before he appears in the doorway.

"They're here!" he tells her with a goofy-sweet smile. "C'mon, let me introduce you around."

Reminding herself that she's already met Carlisle and Esme Cullen, his aunt and uncle, even though it was over thirty years ago, Bella wipes her hands on her jeans before zipping her jacket and following Edward out into the snow.

Three cars drive slowly down the track toward the house before emptying. The first car contains a couple who are, presumably, Edward's parents. The man, in particular, looks exactly how Bella pictures Edward as an older man. His copper-colored hair is streaked with plenty of gray and when she and Edward make their way over, his emerald eyes shine—Edward's emerald eyes.

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Mom. Glad you made it out okay. How was the flight?" Edward greets them with hugs and a kiss for his mom. The sight makes Bella smile, despite her nerves.

"Long," his father says cheerfully, turning his attention to Bella. "You must be Isabella Swan. My son has nothing but nice things to say about you." Thrusting his gloved hand toward her, he continues, "I'm Anthony Cullen, this yahoo's father. I'm where he gets his good looks from."

Bella shakes his hand with a light laugh. "It's great to meet you, Mr. Cullen. But it's 'Bella'. Edward talks highly of you—both of you." Turning to Edward's mom, Bella squashes her worry and accepts a hug. "Mrs. Cullen, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, none of that. Call me Elizabeth, dear." Elizabeth has gentle blue eyes and a smile so infectious Bella can't help but mirror it, although her attention is diverted moments later by the dismayed howl behind Mr. and Mrs. Cullen.

"PJ! What're ye doing?" A dark-haired woman, dressed head-to-toe in what Bella can only assume is designer gear based on how impractical it looks for ranch life, throws her arms in the air as a young boy launches himself head-first into a snow drift. "I give up. He can go wild, for all I care."

Edward doesn't seem the least bit surprised by this woman's dramatics—or the boy's apparent love of snow. "Maggie, always a pleasure," he laughs, pulling her into a hug.

She laughs, too, as she pulls back to cup his face between her mittens. "You're laughing, but if that eejit gets lost out here, he's your problem."

Remembering Edward's hurried descriptions of his family members, Bella realizes this must be the Irish wife of his cousin, which makes the tall guy who's joined her Peter, and the boy in the snow...Patrick?

"Patrick Jasper, get your butt outta the snow!" Peter yells.

Yep, Patrick.

Turning his bright blues on Bella, Peter extends his hand for a shake. "Nice to meet ya, Bella. Thank you for having us. This place looks great." Shooting his cousin a sly grin, he adds, "I can see there's more than one reason for my cus' wantin' to come back out here."

"Pete…" Edward warns gently, his laughter cut off by an oomph when a small, snow-covered body hits his legs. "Hey, PJ."

"Hey, Eddie." PJ offers Edward a gap-toothed grin before taking off toward the other car in time to be joined by two more kids—one who looks roughly the same age as PJ and one who looks a little older. Those would be the two belonging to Peter's older brother, Jasper, who follows his wife Alice over to the little group of Cullens and one Swan, Carlisle and Esme bringing up the rear.

There's a fresh round of introductions, and then another when Charlie makes his way outside with Chase running ahead and Dave and Freddie trailing behind him.

"All right," Charlie finally says, clapping his hands together. "Let's get indoors before we all freeze half to death."

The suitcases are left in the cars ready to be taken to the dude ranch later, and the kids are corralled along with the dog—who couldn't be happier to have three dog-mad children to play with—and everybody heads indoors where it's warmer and there's plenty of food and hot coffee waiting.

Edward and Bella linger out on the porch, his smirk wry as she blows out a long breath that fogs up in the frigid air. "See? That wasn't so bad, right?"

"Right," She agrees, gazing up at him with pure adoration and he's mine written all over her face. His pink-cheeked smile is infectious. "They seem great. A little crazy…"

Barking a laugh, Edward glances toward the door before leaning in to press a quick kiss to Bella's lips. "They're absolutely batshit crazy. No 'little' about it. But they're sweethearts, and they'll love you, so let's get in there."

.

.

As it turns out, Bella quickly grows to love Edward's family.

Peter and Jasper are a lot like their cousin—fun-loving, smart, and chivalrous. Then there's Carlisle and Anthony, who are exactly the same, except older and more easily bossed around by their wives.

Esme and Elizabeth are both wonderful, strong women, as Bella assumes they have to be with three loud boys between them plus their husbands. They've clearly taught their daughters-in-law some of their tricks, though. Bella sees a lot of similarities between the two older women and Alice and Maggie; it reminds her of her bond with her ex-mother-in-law, Anna. She makes a mental note to give her a call and catch up. She's the boys' grandmother, but over the course of Bella's marriage to Emmett, Anna also became a close friend for Bella.

The female company is a welcome reprieve from the typical group of boys Bella spends her time with. On the second night of the Cullen invasion, everyone with a Y chromosome gets booted up to the main house for a night of cards while the women enjoy wine and girl chat in the biggest of the dude ranch cabins. Bella, unexpectedly, enjoys herself even in the company of relative strangers.

A week before Christmas, Charlie, Carlisle, Anthony, Elizabeth, and Esme park themselves in front of the fire while everyone younger than sixty heads out into the show to find 'the perfect Christmas tree'. They don snowboots, coats, and hats before trudging into the woods in search of just the right spruce.

Chase runs ahead with PJ, Lucas, and Michael—Jasper and Alice's seven- and ten-year-olds. Maggie and Alice walk arm-in-arm, discussing Maggie and Peter's house renovations between yelling at the kids to 'quit being eejits'. Maggie's Irish-isms, as Edward calls them, have been adopted by more than one member of the Cullen clan.

Peter and Jasper are happy enough to wander along behind their wives, Dave and Freddie joining them to hear all about their season tickets to the Knicks, which leaves Edward to fall back with Bella.

"Hey…" he murmurs, sneakily linking their fingers for a quick squeeze while everyone else is distracted. "You okay?"

Smiling and rubbing her gloved hands together, Bella nods her bobble-hat-covered head. Her eyes follow Dave and Freddie. They've always been personable; there isn't a shy bone in either boy's body. It's wonderful to see them melding so seamlessly with Edward's family. It makes her wonder, it makes her dream. About their family, about the future.

"I love this. This...big family thing. It's usually just me and the boys picking out a tree. We usually get bored after half-hour and head home without a tree." Snorting, Bella admits, "Last year, we ended up buying a half-dead plant from our neighbor's ranch and decorating that."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Edward laughs, his gaze full of affection when he looks over at his cousins and Bella's boys getting on like a house on fire despite the twenty-something years separating them.

"This is perfect, though. Dave and Freddie have a small family, really. They only have the one Grampa since Emmett's dad passed a few years ago, no cousins or anything, and I obviously never had any other children. Of course, they've got Lily and they adore her...but we're a small bunch, all told. I think they're enjoying having more people around."

As she talks, Dave splits from the adults and jogs ahead to sneak up on PJ. He scoops the boy into his arms and flings him around just like he would Lily. The sight and the sound of the six-year-old's giggles mingling with her son's chuckles warm Bella.

Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Edward offers her a wink when she raises her eyebrows at him. "I like this, too. It's pretty great."

And it is. So much so that Bella throws caution to the wind and slowly loops her arm around Edward's waist, ignoring his eyes on the side of her face until he gives her shoulders a squeeze and presses a kiss to her hat-covered head.

This is so much better than just 'pretty great'. It's perfect.

.

.

"Go fish! Ha! I beat you, old man!"

Wide-eyed and horrified, Bella snaps, "Freddie Charles McCarty, you apologize right now!"

Oh my God, did he really just call Edward's dad 'old man'? He's not my son.

Loud laughter has Bella chewing her lip and barely resisting the urge to hide in her room.

"Oh, ho! Look at the mouth on you, son," Anthony chortles, slapping Freddie's back hard enough that the boy winces before mouthing sorry to his mom. "Bella, dear, don't you worry. I raised this wild child," and there's another back-breaking backslap for Edward, "so I think I can handle your boy's backchat."

Charlie chuckles from the other side of the dining table. "You've met your match with Ant, whippersnapper. I think it's time for another beer, or am I right, fellas?"

Anthony and Carlisle murmur their agreement, so Freddie huffs halfheartedly and fetches a round of beers from the fridge while Bella leaves them to their poker to rejoin the rest of the group in the living area. Elizabeth and Esme left earlier in the evening, citing tiredness, and took the children with them, so it's just Alice, Jasper, Maggie, Peter, Edward, and Dave gathered on the couches and beanbags in front of the fire.

Edward catches her eye as soon as she walks into the room, scooting up slightly on the larger of the two beanbags and patting the empty space. Bella stifles a grin as she joins him. "You okay? I heard you shout…"

Very aware of everybody watching them, Bella nods and plasters a bright smile on her face. "I'm good. Freddie was being a brat, but it's fine. Your dad says he can handle him, so…"

"Typical Fred," Dave hums, his grin a mile wide. "His mouth's always gettin' him in trouble."

"You're a fine one to talk, young man," Bella warns softly, her tone infused with enough amusement to let everyone know she's mostly teasing. Still, Dave's grin slips while hers widens. He's at that age where he wants to fit in with the adults but he still feels a little too much like a kid, so Bella knows he'll be on his best behavior and showing off while Jasper and Peter are around. He won't want her blabbing about all the times she's had to talk him out of trouble.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbles, quickly changing the subject. "So, Edward...you didn't tell us you left your baby back in New York. It must be hard being apart from her."

The blood drains from Bella's face in a rush. Her heart kicks into high gear.

His...baby?

Apparently completely unaware of how tense Bella has become, Edward chuckles, raking a hand through his hair. "You told him?" he asks...somebody. Bella can't concentrate past the thought of Edward keeping a secret like that...he wouldn't, would he? She can't muffle the voice in the back of her head screaming that she's been waiting for something like this; she's been expecting the other shoe to drop. She just didn't expect this particular shoe.

"Well, of course! I can't believe you didn't tell them, honestly. Kat's grandparents love having her, but you can't deny that she should be with you, man," Jasper says with a smirk.

Kat. Oh, God. He has a daughter.

Bella's on her feet before she can second-guess herself. All eyes swivel to her, but she needs… "Air. I'm just...it's too warm in here."

"Is she okay?" Peter asks quietly as Bella rushes toward the front door. It shuts behind her with a thud, the cold air contrasting harshly against the heat spreading through her veins.

I can't believe—

"Bella?"

Spinning so quickly she almost slips, Bella grasps the front of Edward's hoodie to steady herself. "You...why didn't you tell me?" A sudden realization slams into her gut like a wrecking ball. "That's the thing...the thing that happened. When we talked before, you said it took 'something big' happening for you to realize you'd messed up. This was it, wasn't it? Oh, God. How did I not see—"

Edward's lips crashing against hers cut her off before she can talk herself into a full-blown panic. She moans softly, her hands sliding up into his hair before she remembers that she's mad at him. Shoving him away, Bella misses the twitching curtain as she turns and hurries off the porch into the slowly-falling snow, thankful that she hadn't long gone inside after fetching in some firewood—her boots keep her feet from freezing. The crunch of footsteps at her back precede Edward's hands landing on her shoulders and turning her to face him.

"Hey! What is all this? What are you talking about?"

"Your baby, Edward!" she yells, fury and hurt all rolled into one. "You have a daughter, Edward...a daughter you didn't bother to tell me about!"

"A daughter?" His emerald eyes are wide and a deep, dark jade in the dim light cast out into the snow by the lights on the porch. "Bella…" His voice tapers off into laughter; laughter Bella finds wholly unnecessary and out of order. She socks him in the arm while he's busy laughing his ass off at her expense, tears stabbing her eyes. "Oh, jeez! You should play in the big leagues with that arm."

"I can't believe you're laughing about this. I thought...I thought we were getting somewhere."

The sadness and hurt lacing Bella's tone is enough to kill Edward's amusement. His expression softens, his hands gentle as he cups her face. "Bella, you silly, beautiful woman. I love you. Did you know that? I love the bones of you. You and your boys and your crazy, cheats-at-poker father and this ranch...I love all of it, but most of all, I love you. Do you really think I'd keep a daughter from you?"

"Well, I...I didn't think so."

Swiping his thumb over the apple of her cheek, Edward leans in to rest their foreheads together. "Kat is my motorcycle, Bella. Ducati...Kat. She lives with my parents—in their garage."

"Your...motorcycle…" Embarrassment rushes in and replaces Bella's anger.

"Yes, my motorcycle. My cell's inside, or I'd show you a picture. Look, I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't hurt that you think I'd keep something like a kid from you, but, Bella, I get it. I get that I still need to earn your trust. I think I've been doing pretty good at making a start though, right?"

"Right," she whispers, relieved and mortified and exhausted as she blows out a breath and closes her eyes, his lips brushing her hairline. A shiver ripples down her spine as his hands slide down, one cupping the back of her neck while the other falls to her waist.

"Bella…"

Lifting her eyes to his, she's just in time to see the raw emotion in his gaze before her eyelids slide shut and his lips caress hers in kisses that leave her tongue-tied and unaware of the hoots and hollers coming from the porch.

Momentarily.

"Oh, shit," Edward chuckles ruefully, pulling back as Bella buries her face in his chest. "I think we're busted, big time."

"The boys…"

"You know you're not supposed to get with the hired help, Mom!" Dave calls, closely followed by Freddie's ew, gross, that's our mom!

"Bella, look at me. Look at me." Listening to Edward's gentle coaxing instead of the catcalls of their family, Bella peers up into his pretty green eyes. Snowflakes dust his hair and eyelashes, the heat of his body fighting off the chill of the evening. He's warmth and smiles where she's worry and overthinking.

He's her first love and the love of her life all rolled into one copper-haired, crinkly-eyed-smiling package, but he's also smart, caring, funny, and everything she's ever dreamed of.

He's hers, just like she's his.

And she doesn't care that their family know it.

"I love you."

His grin stretches impossibly wide, his hands squeezing as he sighs and shakes his head with a little laugh. "I love you, too." Edward's eyes dance as he glances over her shoulder. "You up for hiding out for a bit? I have a feeling we're going to be picked apart if we go back in the house."

Catching on, Bella shoots a quick look back at the house where their family is without a doubt waiting to harass all the whys, whens, and wheres out of them, then she turns back to Edward with an impish smile of her own. "C'mon, Doc. Let's go hide."

They take off into the snow toward the barn hand-in-hand, their laughter joined by their family's as the snow starts falling harder and the moon peeks out from between the clouds.

.

.

A week later...

"You can do it, hon. Big breaths. That's it—in….and out. In...and out. There you go. You're doing great."

"This is hell," Angela grits out, squeezing Bella's hand hard enough she's sure it's going to shatter. Not that she'll say anything. Bella remembers both of her own labors well enough to know Angela is fighting a losing battle against having a completely natural birth. "Okay, dammit. I can't do it. Get me an epidural."

Smoothing a cool flannel over his wife's forehead, Ben quietly thanks Bella as she offers to go fetch the doctor. Stepping out into the hall, she can't help but sigh and smile to herself. Edward, Dave, and Freddie are all fast asleep right where she left them a couple of hours ago—propped up against each other on the uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs. Unable to resist, she snaps a photo of the boys leaning against Edward's shoulders before crouching in front of him and gently patting his thighs.

He wakes quickly, his eyes snapping open and blearily focusing on her face. "Bella. Is everything okay? Has she…"

"No, not yet. Little JC is hanging on in there." Nodding at her boys, Bella whispers, "Why don't you three head home? I think I'll be here a while, honestly. It's Christmas Eve, you could be with your family."

Edward smiles sleepily, puckering his lips for a kiss seeing as he can't lean forward to take one for himself unless he wants to wake Dave and Freddie. "I'm okay here, and I think these two will want to stay. Besides, you guys—you three—you're all I need."

This guy...day by day, he's turning me into a mushy sap.

"Okay. Okay," Bella breathes, leaning in to plant a few more kisses on his lips before standing up and taking a big step backward. Ever since their night in the loft a week ago, they've been all-but insatiable for each other. They can't do anything here, though, so it's best they keep a bit of distance between themselves. "I'm just going to get the doctor for Ang. I think the natural labor plan is out."

"Ouch," Edward mumbles, resting his head back against the wall. His eyes are already sliding closed again, sleep likely only moments away. "Well, keep me posted. Let me know if I can do anythin'."

Smiling, Bella murmurs sweet dreams before heading down the hall in search of Angela's obstetrician.

.

Three hours later, five minutes into Christmas Day, Jamie Benjamin Cheney screams his way into the world. His daddy catches him before tearfully handing him to his godmother while he cuts the spongy umbilical cord.

Amidst the tears of relief, happiness, and exhaustion, Bella has the fleeting thought that she might not be as done with her baby-carrying days as she thought, but it's swept away in the excitement of Jamie's arrival. It's only later in the morning, when she returns with a bouquet of flowers for the new mom and a hamper of baby goodies for little JC, Edward at her side, that she remembers the passing image of a tiny, copper-haired, green-eyed baby in her arms rather than the dark-haired, blue-eyed godson she's currently cradling.

"Getting broody, Bella?" Angela asks slyly, leaning against Ben's shoulder in the bed.

Red-faced, Bella silently curses her friend. "Not at all."

Nobody believes her lie—least of all Edward, who wraps his arm around her middle to give her a squeeze before resting his chin on her shoulder and whispering that he's always thought they'd make a cute baby.

.

.

Four years and some months later…

"C'mon, Mom! You're gonna be late!"

"Jeez, anyone would think this is their wedding…" Bella mumbles, carefully fastening her earring before stepping back to check herself over in the full-length mirror.

Beautiful diamond studs...check.

Hair curled and arranged in a messy bun...check.

Stunning blush pink dress that flatters me in all the right places...definitely check.

Being a second-time bride, not to mention a bride officially in her forties, Bella couldn't bear the thought of walking down the aisle in a second white dress. She opted for the fitted, slightly pink dress instead and hasn't regretted her decision once, least of all now when she's just minutes away from walking toward her happily ever after.

Opening the door with a satisfied, momentarily bashful smile, she's faced with three of her absolute favorite people.

Now a man rather than a boy, Dave towers above her and fills out his gray suit with his broad shoulders and tall frame. His long arms pull her into his chest as she struggles to hold back tears.

"You made it!"

"Of course, I did. A delayed flight wasn't gonna keep me away, Ma. It'd take more than that." Pulling back to wipe an errant tear from her face, he grins. "Pops came out to pick me up so I didn't have to queue for a rental."

"Yeah, yeah. We're all stoked you're back, whatever." Freddie's next to tug her into a hug complete with a smacking kiss on his mom's cheek. "Happy wedding day, Mom."

Like his brother, Freddie is more than a head taller than his petite mom. She takes a moment to soak up their affection before there's no ignoring the insistent little hands tugging her dress.

Her eyes soften and tears threaten to tumble over her cheeks. "You look so handsome!"

Scooping the little boy into her arms, Bella peppers kisses over his chubby cheeks. At just over a year old, Brady Charles is a clone of his father from his big grin to his bright eyes.

"Nana, Nana, Nana!" he babbles happily, patting her cheeks.

"Nana's here, sweet boy." Looking up at an identical set of brilliant blue peepers, Bella can't help but marvel at how happy she is; how happy her family makes her. "How's Lucy?"

Dave's grin widens. "Grumpy—ow, Ma!"

"Don't call the mother of my grandbaby 'grumpy'! If she's less than happy, it's probably your fault."

"What?" Dave cries, rubbing his arm where Bella just socked him. "She is. And actually, it's not my fault. It's all down to this little guy and his sudden aversion to sleeping at night."

"Are you guys ready?" Jake flashes a toothy grin as he strolls up to the cabin, hands in his pockets and his usually wild black hair temporarily tamed for the occasion. Chase dawdles along at his side, content just to be around people. The last few years have mellowed him.

Blowing out a long breath, Bella nods and snuggles Brady before setting him down. He toddles off with an unsteady gait, his dad following closely behind him.

"I'm ready," Bella finally murmurs.

Everything's a blur as Freddie offers her his arm and they trail after Jake, Dave, and Brady. The sun shines brilliantly over the lake, the glittering surface too bright for Bella to see the little group gathered at the end of the pontoon until she's almost at stepping onto the aged planks.

Taking Brady from his dad's arms, Jake follows Chase down to join the cluster of friends and family, leaving Bella, Dave, and Freddie on the grass. Their faces are solemn as she places a hand on each of their faces.

"I love you, boys…" Tears choke her before she can continue.

Dave chuckles softly. "You're beautiful, Mom."

"What he said," Freddie agrees cheerfully, his eyes glassy.

A light breeze rushes along the lake shore; Bella stifles a sigh.

Hey, Dad. Thanks for coming.

This day, this moment, as the music starts to carry toward them from the portable speakers and Dave and Freddie take Bella's arms to lead her toward her forever...it's bittersweet.

"He's here, Mom," Freddie murmurs. "Grampa's here, walking with us."

A single tear rumbles over Bella's cheek, catching briefly in the curve of her smile. "I know, baby."

Losing Charlie a year ago to a sudden brain aneurysm had hit everybody hard. Dave flew home back from Tennessee, where he and Lucy studied business in college, to support his mom and brother until a few days after the funeral. Edward's parents also flew in; they spent a week on the ranch before departing with a promise to make regular visits. A promise they've kept.

As the warm fall sun shines down on her, Bella finally manages to focus on the little crowd ahead.

Carlisle and Esme stand with their sons and grandchildren. Bella smiles when she sees Maggie clutching not-so-little PJ's shoulders to keep him in place.

Anthony and Elizabeth are there, too, their arms around each other as they watch her walking toward them. Bella knows she's lucked out with them as future in-laws.

Angela, Ben, their now-four-year-old Jamie, and three-week-old Millie are gathered with the few friends Edward made and kept at veterinary school, plus their partners—the Robertsons and the Halls are both wonderful couples who took great delight in telling Bella how frequently Edward had looked at the photos of their year together way-back-when. He had them pinned to his corkboard in their shared dorm room.

Dave's Lucy has taken her son back from Jake, but stands beside him. The smiling little boy rests on her hip, squirming when he spots his beloved nana, father, and uncle.

Perhaps the most odd—to some—guests are the first Bella passes. Emmett grins and winds his arm around his wife's waist, his dimples flashing and matching those etched into his daughter's face.

"Bella!" Lily cries, eliciting chuckles from the small congregation.

"Hey, sweet pea," Bella laughs, her eyes finally, finally finding the lopsided grin and shining green eyes she's been longing to see.

In a simple linen shirt and a pair of tan dress pants, Edward looks as handsome as ever. The gray peppered throughout his copper hair adds to his charms, and the crinkling of his eyes as his smile widens turns Bella to mush.

"I love you," he mouths, his gaze glassy with unshed tears.

Sniffling a soft laugh, Bella tells him "I love you, too" just as she and her boys reach the makeshift altar. Jake and Freddie have been working on the arch for weeks, while Angela helped Bella twist sections of pretty wildflowers through the trellis just yesterday. The light, floral scent wraps around her as Dave and Freddie kiss her cheeks in tandem, murmuring their I love yous before stepping to the side. A warm flush spreads across Bella's cheeks as Edward reaches out to caress her face with the backs of his fingers.

"You're beautiful, love. Absolutely stunning."

Hushed awws spread through the intimate crowd while the reverend clasps his hands together with a pleased smile. "All right, are we all present and accounted for?"

Bella and Edward both open their mouths to respond, but they're cut off by a small, delighted screech. Laughter ripples along the water as all eyes turn to the copper-haired, brown-eyed toddler who's made her way into Jake's arms, now. Smiling widely, Bella reaches for the little girl, accepting her with a soft thank you.

"Mama, Mama!"

"Yeah, baby girl," Bella coos, stroking the wisps of Edward's hair back from her daughter's tiny face. "Mama's here."

"Okay," Reverend Walton chuckles. "Now we have the guest of honor, Miss Charlotte, are we all present and accounted for?"

"I think so, Reverend," Edward says cheerfully, winding his arm around Bella's waist after giving his daughter's tiny button nose a tap.

"Then we shall begin."

In years to come, when Bella looks back on this day, she won't remember all of the words said, or any of the readings she and Edward picked out together. She'll remember gazing into Edward's eyes as he professes his love for her; as he promises to love her, be faithful to her, and cherish her for the rest of his life. She'll remember their almost-two-year-old's giggles when they lean in to kiss each other, Dave's and Freddie's proud smiles when they take turns shaking Edward's hand and calling him 'Pops' to his face for the first time. They've been doing it in secret for a while, but Bella knows they've waited until now so that the photographer they hired can catch his shocked grin and misty eyes on camera.

After many kisses, hugs, and congratulations, Bella, Edward, Charlotte, Dave, and Freddie lead the way back down the pontoon onto dry land. They pose for a few photos with their guests before the scene descends into minor chaos; Maggie's Irish accent comes out full force as she yells for her son to get his ass away from the water just seconds before he hits the surface with an almighty splash. His older cousins follow him in with whoops and hollers.

Eyeing their mother before meeting each other's challenging gazes, Dave and Freddie strip off their shirts and jackets on the way to the lake.

Shaking her head, Bella tightens her grip on Charlotte, waiting…

There we go.

"Mama, I go, I go!"

"No, sweetheart," Edward murmurs, gently taking Charlotte from Bella to swoop her through the air. "Don't you want to hang out with Daddy?"

"No, Daddy!" Charlotte laughs, but she sticks her arms out to her sides like a little plane and whines when he swings her around to sit on his shoulders, instead. "More, Daddy, more pwane!"

Pursing his lips, Edward eyes his beaming bride. "I'm not as young as I used to be, sweetheart. Daddy's arms get tired."

Bella snorts, peering up at her husband and daughter—so alike, and so very dear to her heart. Charlotte Elizabeth Swan-Cullen was the missing piece of a jigsaw Bella hadn't known she was assembling. And as it turns out, Edward was right the day Angela and Ben welcomed little Jamie into the world. They really do make a cute baby. They'd shared concerns—many of them—about having a baby so late in life, but now, with their daughter happily terrorizing the ranch on a day-to-day basis, Edward and Bella can't imagine life without their wild child.

"C'mon, Lottie!" Lily cries, bouncing over with her parents in hot pursuit. "Let's go get some candy."

"Ooh, candy!"

Edward chuckles as he lifts Charlotte down from his shoulders, then wraps his arm around Bella as they, Emmett, and Rosalie watch the little girls heading hand-in-hand toward the big buffet spread out under a gazebo.

"They're gonna be a force to be reckoned with," Emmett murmurs happily, bumping the fist Edward holds out.

"Too right," Edward agrees.

"Mommy, please come help me! I can't reach the candy eggs!" Lily yells.

Rolling her eyes, Rosalie shoots her husband a withering look. "Her candy addiction? It's totally your fault."

Before Emmett can argue, Charlotte is yelling for Edward to come help her, too. He and Rosalie amble over to the food tent together, chatting amicably and lamenting over their respective daughters' overabundance of confidence.

"Who'd have thought it, huh?" Emmett sighs, reaching out to clasp Bella's shoulder. His wide, dimpled grin makes the smile that's been plastered on her face all day widen even more. "Look at you, Bells. Look how far you've come."

Releasing a long breath and leaning into Emmett's side, Bella can't help but do exactly what he says. She's come an incredibly long way from the girl she once was—the girl who wanted to travel the world and thought a life on the ranch would kill her. These woods, this lake, the big blue sky and the mountains standing guard in the distance...it's home. Swan Ranch is thriving, and with Edward's clinics taking off, the family business is only going from strength to strength.

The family is growing, too. With Dave and Lucy moving back with Brady, and Freddie inviting his long-term girlfriend to the wedding—even though she can only attend the evening reception due to work commitments—Bella's comforted by the knowledge that everybody she cares about is happy and healthy. That's all she wants for her family and friends.

"You've got a great guy there, Bella," Emmett murmurs. Tipping her face up to look at him, Bella returns his smile. "Really. I know the boys are basically all grown up now, but if I had to pick a stepdad for them, Edward'd be the one."

For a moment, they both turn their attention to their respective other halves and daughters. Then Emmett sighs, squeezing her around the shoulders. "And if I had to pick a new husband for you, it would still be him."

Scrunching up her face, Bella can't help but laugh. "That was so corny, Em. Really, really bad."

Emmett shakes his head and joins in with her laughter. "I know, sorry. Doesn't make it any less true, though."

"I appreciate it, Em. I really do."

.

.

A few hours later, as the sun hovers amongst the mountain tops, Edward leads Bella back down toward the arch where she became his wife.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Bella giggles, her cheeks pink from sun and champagne and laughter.

Stopping right where they were married, Edward takes both of her hands in his and gazes down at her, all lopsided-grinning, crinkly-eyed joy. "I've shared you all day. I'd like just a little alone time with my wife."

"Well, Mr. Cullen, you're in luck, because I wouldn't be opposed to a little alone time with my husband."

Laughing lightly, Edward takes her into his arms, humming when she rests her head against his chest and gives his waist a gentle squeeze. "Mrs. Cullen, you spoil me."

The late evening light makes the lake sparkle in stunning navy and silver, the wood sturdy underfoot and the air still as the newlyweds sway together. "I love you."

Tightening his arms, Edward presses a hard kiss to Bella's head. "I love you, too."

"Today...it's just been so perfect. I hope this never changes."

"You don't mean that, honey."

Pulling back to raise her eyebrows at him, Bella's lips curl in a curious half-smile.

"Well, if nothing ever changed, we wouldn't have our little Charlotte, or Brady. Our business wouldn't have grown and prospered over the last couple of years." Smirking faintly, he adds, "The house would still only have one bathroom."

"Well that's a change I can fully get behind." Saying goodbye to the daily fight for the bathroom had been easy as pie.

"Exactly. And we've got so many great changes still to come. Dave and Lucy moving back home next summer, the dude ranch expansion, Charlotte hopefully getting back into a good nap schedule so we can finally get some alone time…"

"Okay, okay. You're right." Returning her cheek to Edward's chest, Bella revels in the feel of his warmth wrapping around her and the sight of their loved ones mingling on the shore. "Some change is good."

A sudden, light breeze whips across the lake, sweeping Bella's hair away from her shoulders before replacing the strands where it found them. Steadying herself with her hands on Edward's arms, Bella releases a lilting laugh. "Whoa, did you feel that?"

Grinning broadly, Edward sighs and bends his neck to rest their foreheads together. "I sure did. And you know what, love? It's the winds of change."

* * *

**There we have it, that's all she wrote ;) I hope you've enjoyed your gift, Gemma! I enjoyed writing these two and their merry little family xo**


End file.
